The disastrous flooding that killed more than 11,000 people has fostered national solidarity among Libyans, long governed by opposing powers.
has been divided between rival administrations since 2014, with an internationally recognized government in Tripoli and a rival authority in the east, where Derna is located. Both are backed by international patrons and armed militias whose influence in the country has ballooned since a NATO-backed Arab Spring uprising toppled autocratic ruler Moammar Gadhafi in 2011. Numerous United Nations-led initiatives to bridge the divide have failed.
The disaster has fostered rare instances of the opposing administrations cooperating to help those affected. As recently as 2020, the two sides were in an all-out war. Gen. Khalifain a yearlong failed military campaign to try to capture the capital, killing thousands. Across the country, the disaster has also exposed the shortcomings of Libya’s fractured political system.
The tragedy follows a long line of problems born from the country’s lawlessness. Most recently, in August, sporadicin the capital, killing at least 45 people, a reminder of the influence rogue armed groups wield across Libya. Meanwhile, the speaker of Libya’s eastern administration, Aguila Saleh, said the flooding was simply an incomparable natural disaster. “Don’t say, ‘If only we’d done this, if only we’d done that,’” said Saleh in a televised news conference.
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