Two officials arrested in Libya for supplying expired medication to Storm Daniel survivors

Two Libyan officials have been arrested for handing out expired medication to those affected by the devastating floods this month which wiped out large parts of the eastern city of Derna.

Both the financial and legal advisors in the office of the president of Libya’s National Oil Corporation were detained.

It comes days after authorities in the capital Tripoli – the seat of the internationally-recognised government in Libya – arrested the director of National Oil Corporation’s head office, a security source told the Bawabat Al-Wasat news site.

He had reportedly abused his powers by issuing direct assignments to two private companies regarding the distribution of medical supplies for those affected by the collapse of the Derna dams and the flash floods.

The director of one of those two companies was also suspended from his job.

Several people have already been arrested for bad management and negligence.

Nearly 4,000 people were confirmed dead in the Storm Daniel disaster and international aid groups have said 10,000 or more people may be missing.

Following the tragic dam collapse in Derna after Storm Daniel, concerns are growing over how Khalifa Haftar and his family - particularly his sons Saddam and Elseddik - are exploiting the crisis to strengthen their hold on eastern Libya 👇 https://t.co/SaOIBrWTwB

— The New Arab (@The_NewArab) September 28, 2023

Libya has been unstable ever since a popular uprising toppled longtime dictator Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.

The North African country is now divided between an internationally recognised Tripoli-based administration in the west, and the one in the flood-stricken east backed by military strongman Khalifa Haftar.

Although not recognised internationally, the Interim National Unity Government in the east – which governs Derna - had said it would host an "international conference" on 10 October to aid the port city's reconstruction.

In a separate matter, the eastern government said Thursday that it had detected bacterial contamination in all groundwater sources in Derna because of sewage and the decomposition of corpses of people who perished in the floods.

The eastern administration’s environmental sanitation department said its teams continued to monitor water sources in the cities affected by the floods, including checking water pipes used for seawater desalination.

The department said its teams were adding chlorine to disinfect the water and guiding citizens on how to safely use the water.