The Algerian Civil Protection Agency in collaboration with local and international teams has dispatched a new rescue team to the Libyan city of Derna, to continue the ongoing rescue operations initiated 10 days ago.
This is coming following the escalating humanitarian crisis in Libya, in the wake of the destructive Mediterranean cyclone, Daniel that hit the country’s eastern region. Reports show that there are thousands of fatalities including those admitted from severe injuries, missing persons, and internally displaced individuals.
The Algerian Interior Ministry stated its decision to “rotate the current civil protection teams with new, equally specialised groups, harnessing the same resources and capabilities, to the storm-affected city.”
The newly mobilised team, consisting of diverse ranks and specialisations were seen preparing for their journey to Libya from the Boufarik Military Airport, travelling via a military aircraft.
The move to refresh the teams, according to the Algerian Interior Ministry, is “in adherence to prevailing international norms,” underscoring its commitment to “ensuring that the civil protection teams maintain their laudable humanitarian efforts with unabated vigour.”
Earlier on September12, Algeria activated an airlift, utilising eight hefty military planes, aiming to swiftly transport humanitarian assistance to Libya, countering the detrimental aftermath of the cyclone. On Wednesday evening, the Algerian relief team reported having recovered a total of 198 bodies, in the troubled city of Derna.
UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres called a flood that killed thousands in Derna, Libya a “symbol of the world’s ills.”
“Even as we speak now, bodies are washing ashore from the same Mediterranean Sea where billionaires sunbathe on their super yachts,” Guterres said in the opening of the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly, on Tuesday.
“Derna is a sad snapshot of the state of our world – the flood of inequity, of injustice, of inability to confront the challenges in our midst,” he added.
