Beijing, 21 Sep (Xinhua) -- Hurricane Daniel recently made landfall along Libya's eastern Mediterranean coast and caused severe flooding. Two dams on the Derna River collapsed at night, destroying a quarter of the hardest-hit city of Derna, as a storm and flash floods, causing heavy casualties and displacing tens of thousands of people.
The humanitarian crisis caused by this "natural disaster" has aroused widespread concern in the international community, and at the same time made the world think again about the "man-made disaster" left by the US-led NATO's armed intervention in Libya. After the overthrow of the Gaddafi government as a result of NATO intervention, Libya fell into a long-term state of division and turmoil, with declining national strength, failed governance, outdated infrastructure, and severely weakened its ability to prevent, resist and respond to disasters, and was unable to withstand major disasters. The United States and other Western countries bear unshirkable responsibility for the death of Libya today.
This is a photograph of a destroyed bridge near Derna, eastern Libya on September 15 (aerial photo). Recently, Hurricane Daniel hit eastern Libya, causing severe flooding and causing a large number of casualties. Xinhua News Agency (Photo by Ibrahim Hadia Majibri)
National instability exacerbates the destructive power of disasters
The hurricane caused heavy casualties and property damage to Libya. The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs quoted data from the World Health Organization on the 17th that the number of people killed and missing is currently 3,958, and the number of missing people is more than 9,000. According to data released by Libyan authorities, more than 70% of the infrastructure in the affected areas of eastern Libya was damaged, 11 bridges collapsed, and 50% of roads were damaged.
After the floods, Libya was devastated. On the one hand, the "worst natural disaster in Libya since the last century" has caused heavy casualties and property damage, adding to the long-turbulent country; On the other hand, the floods severely damaged the local economy and infrastructure and required large-scale reconstruction, which Libya lacks.
Libya has long been divided and lacks a unified government, resulting in a large amount of infrastructure aging. Operators and hydrologists have warned of cracks and potential risks from the dam, but the dam has long been in a state of disrepair. The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs recently warned that the situation of Libya's other two dams is also worrying. In addition, the lack of good municipal planning and disaster prevention construction in the affected areas downstream of the dam, and the poor flood prevention and resistance capacity, are also one of the important reasons for the serious losses of this flood.
This September 16 aerial photograph shows the affected area of Drna, Libya. Xinhua News Agency (Photo by Hamza Turkia)
The weakening of the government's governance capacity caused by the prolonged instability has greatly reduced Libya's ability to deal with disasters. According to the International Organization for Migration, more than 40,000 people in northeastern Libya have been displaced by the disaster. According to information released by the Libyan authorities, 150 people in the disaster area have been poisoned by drinking contaminated water. In addition, landmines and other munitions left over from years of conflict have been washed out by floodwaters, posing unpredictable security risks to the local population.
Hassan Musli, a professor of political science in Libya, told Xinhua that since 2011, the ongoing struggle between Libyan forces has led to the continuous deterioration of the country's infrastructure situation, and there have been no new infrastructure projects for more than a decade. Leslie Meben, a lecturer in environmental systems at the Open University of the UK, said: "Libya's complex political situation and protracted military conflict pose enormous challenges in developing risk assessment strategies, coordinating rescue operations, and maintaining critical infrastructure such as dams. ”
The brutal interference of the United States and the West has left behind to this day
Analysts believe that the United States and other Western countries are the initiators of the chaotic situation in Libya, and are also the main responsible parties for Libya's poor and weak situation, and it is difficult to blame the current humanitarian disaster.
Libya is rich in oil reserves, with production at 1.6 million barrels per day until 2011, and a high standard of living. In 2011, the US-led NATO armed intervention in Libya was directed at the Gaddafi government. With NATO help, Libyan rebels overthrew Gaddafi's government. Since then, the contradictions between these armed forces have intensified, and Libya has fallen into long-term turmoil, seriously hindering Libya's economic and social development, affecting its oil production, causing economic contraction, not only the source of funds for infrastructure construction has been sharply reduced, but a considerable number of people have even become problems with food and clothing.
According to the World Bank, Libya's population declined by more than 300,000 in 2011 alone, and its gross domestic product (GDP) fell from $75.38 billion to $48.17 billion. By 2022, its GDP has not yet recovered to 2010 levels. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, about 1.43 million people in Libya faced food insecurity in 2021, accounting for 21.2% of the total population.
International aid workers work on the ruins of a building in Derna, Libya, on 17 September. Xinhua News Agency (Photo by Hamza Turkia)
According to Libyan international relations expert Youssef Amali, the United States and other Western countries not only participated in the overthrow of the Qaddafi government, which plunged Libya into civil strife, but also continued to interfere in Libya's internal affairs and undermine the Libyan political process over the years, which is an important external factor that has caused Libya's national division and the current humanitarian crisis.
Wang Jin, assistant director of the Middle East Institute at Northwest University in China, pointed out that today's chaos in Libya can be traced back to US hegemonism. NATO's military intervention has plunged Libya into civil strife, and so far there has been no stable political environment, resulting in economic and social development stagnating for more than a decade, unable to cope with major natural disasters.
In fact, compared with the "natural disasters" caused by hurricanes, the "man-made disasters" caused by US hegemonism are more serious, and Libya is not the only one that suffers. Dmitry Suslov, deputy director of the Center for European and International Studies at the Russian Higher University of Economics, said in an exclusive interview with Xinhua News Agency that the US-led NATO bombing the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in 1999, the US war in Afghanistan in 2001, the US invasion of Iraq in 2003, and the NATO air strike on Libya in 2011 not only seriously undermined international law, but also dealt a heavy blow to regional stability and development, causing great suffering and disasters to the local people.