Libya flood: Top prosecutor arrests eight current, former officials

Derna [Libya], September 26 : Following the deadly Libya flood which claimed the lives of thousands of people, Libya's chief prosecutor ordered the detention of eight current and former officials pending his investigation, reported Al Jazeera. 
Last month, two dams collapsed outside the city of Derna, which sent a wall of water several metres high through the city and caused the deadly flood. 
The office of General Prosecutor Al-Siddiq Al-Sour in a statement stated that the prosecutors on Sunday questioned seven former and current officials with the Water Resources Authority and the Dams Management Authority over allegations that mismanagement, negligence and mistakes led to the disaster, Al Jazeera reported. 
Moreover, Derna Mayor Abdulmenam al-Ghaithi, who was sacked after the disaster, was also questioned, the statement said.
However, these eight officials did not provide any evidence to prove them innocent of these potential charges. Moreover, the prosecutors put them behind bars pending the completion of the investigation, the statement said. 
Adding to this, Al-Sour said that eight other officials would be summoned for questioning. 
He further noted that last week two dams upstream from Derna had been cracked since 1998.
However, repair work was started by a Turkish company in 2010, but was suspended after a few months when Libya's 2011 uprising flared and the work never resumed then. 
The prosecutor further promised to deal firmly with those responsible, according to Al Jazeera. 
His office noted that the investigation is focused on a dam maintenance contract reached between the Turkish firm and Libya’s water department.
Last week, Sour also said that the local authorities, previous governments, and the allocation of the dams’ maintenance funds will also be scrutinised.
“I reassure citizens that whoever made mistakes or negligence, prosecutors will certainly take firm measures, file a criminal case against him and send him to trial,” al-Sour said at a news conference on Friday, according to Al Jazeera.
Reportedly, the United Nations revised the death toll from Libya floods to 3958, and over 9000 injured. 
In Derna, which has an estimated population of at least 120,000, entire districts were swept away or buried in brown mud.
The UN's humanitarian affairs office said it had initiated an appeal for USD 71 million to aid those affected by the disaster. The World Health Organization has also taken action, flying in emergency aid to reach nearly 2,50,000 people in eastern Libya, providing essential medicines, surgery supplies, and body bags.