Türkiye voices solidarity with flood-hit Libya, sends emergency aid
People look at the damage caused by floods in Derna, Libya, Sept. 11, 2023. (AFP Photo)


Türkiye has voiced solidarity with flood-devastated Libya as it sent a third plane carrying rescuers and emergency humanitarian aid to the country on Tuesday.

"We continue to deliver search and rescue teams and aid supplies to the friendly and brotherly country Libya," the Defense Ministry said in a statement.

Earlier in the day, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said Türkiye was ready to stand beside Libya after severe floods killed more than 3,000 people in the country.

"Türkiye stands with the Libyan people," Erdoğan said on the social media platform X.

He offered his condolences to the victims' families and wished a speedy recovery to the injured.

Erdoğan added that Türkiye was sending three aircraft to Benghazi along with 168 search and rescue personnel and humanitarian aid.

Storm Daniel swept several areas of eastern Libya on Sunday, most notably the cities of Derna, Benghazi, al-Bayda, al-Marj and Soussa.

The head of Libya’s Tripoli-based unity government, Abdul Hamid Mohammed Dbeibah, declared all areas exposed to the storm and floods ''disaster zones.''

Libyan authorities declared a state of emergency, which included suspending classes at all public and private educational institutions and closing shops, called for international support.

The UN humanitarian coordinator in Libya, Georgette Gagnon, called on the international community to help quickly. According to initial reports, dozens of villages and towns in the civil war country were severely affected, Gagnon wrote on X.