President William Ruto has sent a message of solidarity to the people of Libya in the aftermath of deadly floods that have killed more than 5,300 people.
Speaking on X, formerly Twitter, Ruto said Kenya stands with Libya during this difficult time.
Our solidarity with the people of Libya in the face of devastating floods that have led to loss of lives and destruction of property. Kenya stands with you.
— William Samoei Ruto, PhD (@WilliamsRuto) September 13, 2023
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According to Libya's envoy for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), Tamer Ramadan previously said 10,000 people were missing after the unprecedented flooding.
Speaking to reporters at a U.N. briefing in Geneva via videoconference from Tunisia, he said the death toll was "huge" and expected to reach the thousands in the coming days.
Three IFRC volunteers died while helping victims of the floods, the organization's chief, Jagan Chapagain, said on social media.
On his part, Eastern Libya minister of civil aviation, Hichem Chkiouat, told Reuters in a phone interview, "I returned from Derna. It is very disastrous. Bodies are lying everywhere — in the sea, in the valleys, under the buildings,"
"The number of bodies recovered in Derna is more 1,000," he told Reuters, adding that it was too early to gauge the full scale of the loss of human lives but that he expected it to be "really, really big."
"I am not exaggerating when I say that 25% of the city has disappeared," Chkiouat told Reuters. "Many, many buildings have collapsed,” he added.
