Ten days after the floods in Libya which left at least 11,300 dead, the delivery of relief and humanitarian aid to Derna continues, not without difficulties. In addition to rubble and bodies, relief efforts could face a new obstacle: explosive remnants of war.
While international solidarity is being organized, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) announced last week on of “additional threat to residents, rescuers and authorities who are trying to deal with the situation”.
“Derna was the scene of fighting for seven years, and we know that before the dam broke, many areas still needed to be cleared and were not cleared due to available resources,” says Erik Tollefsen, chief of the weapons contamination unit of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).
The soil is also contaminated by the presence of unexploded cluster munitions, adds Frédéric Joli, spokesperson for the ICRC. “Approximately 30% of these mini-bombs are defective and do not explode immediately, thus waiting for a shock which triggers them well after the bombing,” he continues.
“This disaster illustrates a situation that we encounter in most war contexts, such as in Afghanistan or Ukraine,” adds Frédéric Joli. While one might think that once submerged, unexploded shells are harmless, in reality “when they have been displaced by water, they can become even more dangerous than before,” explains Erik Tollefsen.
“In recent years, we have worked in Libya with partners – from civil society or government agencies – on both sides to raise awareness of the risks linked to contamination by weapons,” says Erik Tollefsen. But Libya having experienced a long civil war from 2014 to 2020, the task is “overwhelming”, deplores Erik Tollefsen, stressing that the mine clearance capacity is “very limited”.
For the moment, there has been no recorded accident, but the ICRC wants to “draw attention to this scourge” which “worsens the capacity to respond in the most secure way possible for teams and populations” , concludes Frédéric Joli.