EU offers help to flood-hit Libya

By Nur Asena Erturk

The EU on Tuesday offered assistance to Libya, where catastrophic floods after Storm Daniel have killed at least 3,000 people.

"Harrowing images from Libya following deaths & destruction caused by floods, especially in the East of the country," EU Council chief Charles Michel wrote on X, and expressed the EU's "most sincere condolences," to the Libyan people and the victims’ families.

The "EU stands ready to help those affected by this calamity," he added.

The leaders of France and Italy, Emmanuel Macron, and Georgio Meloni, also expressed solidarity with the Libyans, saying they mobilized resources to help people in the North African country.

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said his government was "carefully following the consequences of the floods in Libya," adding that Italy was in contact with the Libyan authorities.

No Italians had been affected so far, he added.

Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto said Rome offered immediate assistance to Libya as well as quake-hit Morocco.

Torrential rains from the powerful cyclone swept several areas of eastern Libya on Sunday, most notably the cities of Benghazi, Al Bayda and Al-Marj, as well as Soussa and Derna.

Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh, the head of Libya’s Tripoli-based unity government, declared all areas exposed to the storm and floods as disaster zones.

Authorities declared a state of emergency, which included suspending classes at all public and private educational institutions and closing shops, and called for international support.