https://arab.news/z4jhc
- Focus ‘on rescue operations, search, recovery of bodies’: EU MENA region spokesman
- UK plans to deploy emergency medical team to conduct rapid assessments in affected areas
LONDON: The EU is to continue providing humanitarian aid and support to flood-stricken Libya through its civil defense mechanism.
Luis Miguel, the EU’s spokesman in the Middle East and North Africa region, told the Libyan News Agency that more help would be on the way and “offers made by European countries to participate in relief efforts will be coordinated.”
He noted that the focus would be “on rescue operations, search, and recovery of bodies,” and “providing aid to those affected,” adding that “the scale of the disaster in the city of Derna is very large.”
The UK has ramped up its life-saving support too, allocating increased funding and deploying an emergency medical team.
In a statement, the British government said the additional support would be in addition to an initial package worth up to £1 million ($1.24 million), which will be used for vital provisions including emergency shelter items, portable solar lanterns, and water filters.
Led by health and sanitation experts from the British medical aid charity UK-MED, the team will conduct rapid medical assessments in affected areas and coordinate with local authorities, international organizations, and other partners on the ground to focus in on Libya’s most urgent health needs.
The UK has increased its financial support for Libya and earthquake-hit Morocco, allocating around £10 million, the statement added.
British minister for the MENA region, South Asia, and the UN, Tariq Ahmad, said: “We will increase UK funding to the crisis response and deliver crucial life-saving provisions, including shelter, water filters, and medical assessments.”
German envoy to Libya, Michael Unmacht, said: “The German International Cooperation Foundation began distributing emergency aid on Friday in the cities of Shahat and Al-Bayda.”
He added that the aid included, “baby food, tents, electric generators, and blankets.”
In a post on X, the French ambassador to Libya, Mostafa Mihraje, said he had met with the Libyan Armed Forces’ chief of staff, Lt. Gen. Abdul Razzaq Al-Nadhouri, to discuss the setting up of a French field hospital in Derna.