Egypt army chief in Libya to coordinate humanitarian relief

Egyptian Army Chief of Staff Osama Askar arrived in Libya yesterday to coordinate providing logistical support and urgent humanitarian relief to the Libyan people after the storm that devastated the country and caused mass destruction.

The military spokesman for the army, Gharib Abdel Hafez Gharib, said in a statement: “Today [Tuesday], an Egyptian military delegation led by Osama Askar, chief of staff of the Armed Forces, arrived in Libya to coordinate the provision of all aspects of logistical support and urgent humanitarian relief.”

Gharib asserted that the visit is being conducted in collaboration with the relevant Libyan authorities and organisations to address the aftermath of Storm Daniel. This includes establishing an air bridge to transport essential supplies. The operation will commence with the deployment of three military aircraft carrying medical and food provisions, along with 25 rescue teams equipped with technical gear.

The spokesman talked about “another plane to carry out medical evacuations of the martyrs and injured.”

This, he explained, comes “in implementation of the directives of [Egyptian] President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi, and is based on Egypt’s support and solidarity with the brotherly Libyan people in all their hardships and crises.”

Storm Daniel swept several areas in eastern Libya on Sunday, most notably the cities of Benghazi, Bayda, and Al Marj, as well as Soussa and Derna. More than 6,000 people have died and many remain unaccounted for after floods caused by the huge storm burst dams, swept away buildings and wiped out as much as a quarter of the eastern city of Derna.Some 10,000 people are missing, with the Libyan Prime Minister Abdel Hamid Dbeibeh announcing that the biggest challenge will be recovering bodies which have been swept into the sea by the torrents.

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