US blocks condemnation of attack on Libya migrant center
July 4, 2019
The UN Security Council failed to issue a statement condemning the bombing in Libya. Washington earlier criticized the attack as "abhorrent," but did not call for a ceasefire.
Image: picture-alliance/Photoshot/Li Muzi
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UN chief Antonio Guterres denounced the "horrendous" attack on a detention center in Tripoli and demanded an independent investigation. A divided Security Council failed to condemn the strike.
The council president said a statement was due: "We will have a press statement, but we are still discussing it," Peruvian Ambassador Gustavo Meza-Cuadra said.
The airstrike hit the Tajoura detention center in the suburbs of Tripoli on Wednesday. Libya's Tripoli-based government, which is backed by the UN, has blamed the attack on rival Libyan National Army forces loyal to rogue general Khalifa Haftar.
During a two-hour closed-door meeting of the Security Council, Britain circulated a statement that condemned the airstrike and called for a ceasefire.
According to diplomatic sources, the US prevented the 15-member Security Council from issuing a statement although it was unclear why.
A US State Department statement released in Washington earlier had condemned the "abhorrent" airstrike but did not call for a truce.
Nearby military target
The United Nations and the European Union have both urged an investigation into the attack.
Haftar's forces said they were targeting a nearby military site, rather than the detention center. Other countries suspected of alignment with his command include Russia, as well as US allies Egypt and the United Arab Emirates.
As night fell, the International Organization for Migration said an estimated 250 migrants remained at Tajoura.
Charlie Yaxley, a spokesman for the UNHCR refugee agency, said the detention center's proximity to the military depot "made it a target for the airstrikes."
"Coordinates of this detention center were well-known to both sides of the conflict," Yaxley said, adding that the UNHCR was sending medical teams to the site.
Libya's impending drinking water crisis
Due to its copious oil resources, Libya was one of North Africa's richest countries. A civil war then plunged Libya into chaos. As a result, large parts of the country could now even run out of drinking water.
Image: Reuters/H. Ahmed
Lack of basic necessities
A health system crisis is looming in Libya. Particularly the western parts of the country are running out of drinkable water. 101 of 149 conduits of the water supply system have already been destroyed in the wake of the chaotic situation in the country.
Image: Reuters/E.O. Al-Fetori
Modern water pipeline system in deterioration
Libya is mainly made up of arid desert. Under dictator Muammar Gaddafi, the 1980s saw the construction of a vast pipeline system known as the "Great Man-Made River." Those pipelines supply more than 70 percent of Libya's population with fresh water. However, since the fall of Gaddafi, the system has been damaged time and again.
Image: Reuters/E.O. Al-Fetori
Civil war and chaos
Since Gaddafi was toppled in 2011, the country has descended into chaos. The internationally recognized government in Tripoli is weak and not in control of large parts of Libya. On the other hand, renegade General Khalifa Haftar and his self-styled Libya National Army (LNA) control large areas predominantly in the east of the country.
Image: AFP/M. Turkia
Target Tripoli
The LNA, in particular, uses the water pipeline system in order to push through its demands, thereby endangering Libya's population. In May, armed forces loyal to Haftar forced water supply employees to cut off the main water pipeline to the besieged capital, Tripoli, for two days, in a bid to press authorities to release a prisoner.
Image: Reuters/H. Ahmed
Water as a weapon of war
It's not only the rebel groups who exploit the water supply system to push through their interests. There are also people who dismantle wellheads, in order to sell the copper those heads are made of. The United Nations have warned all sides in Libya not to use water as a weapon of war.
Image: Reuters/E.O. Al-Fetori
Health hazards
Mostafa Omar, a UNICEF spokesman for Libya, estimates that, in future, some four million people might be deprived of access to safe drinking water if no solution to the conflict is found. This could result in an outbreak of hepatitis A, cholera, and other diarrhea illnesses.
Image: Reuters/E.O. Al-Fetori
Drinking water not fit to drink
Water is not only scarce, but it's also contaminated in many areas. Bacteria or a high content of salt make it unfit for consumption. 'Often, in fact, it's no longer drinkable water,' says Badr al-Din al-Najjar, the head of Libya's National Center for Disease Control.
