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Flood: UN worried over situation at two Libyan dams as death toll hits 11,300 with 100,000 missing
The United Nation has expressed worry over the situation at two Libyan dams.
The condition at the dams came following the devastating floods a week ago in Libya.
The UN office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) on Sunday said it was concerned about two more dams which were reportedly dealing with massive amounts of pressure.
The dams in question are the Jaza Dam – between the partly destroyed city of Darna and Benghazi – and the Qattara Dam near Benghazi, the OCHA said.
However, there have been “contradictory reports” over the dams’ stability, the UN agency said.
Both dams were in good condition and functioning, according to authorities.
Pumps were being installed at the Jaza Dam to relieve pressure on it, the OCHA cited authorities as saying.
Derna was badly hit after the severe storm last weekend, mainly due to the breach of two dams.
The storm killed thousands of people and thousands more are still missing.
The authorities do not yet have exact figures. The city had about 100,000 inhabitants before the disaster.
Confusion over the death toll continued on Sunday after the OCHA initially spoke of 11,300 dead and a further 10,100 missing.
Additionally, an estimated 170 other people had been killed elsewhere in eastern Libya, according to the UN agency.
The OCHA attributed the figures to the Libyan Red Crescent but a spokesman for the aid group voiced astonishment at the numbers and rejected them.
“The official numbers are issued by the agency authorised by the Libyan authorities,” Tawfiq al-Shukri said.
In a later version of its situation report, OCHA dropped those figures, instead citing the World Health Organisation (WHO) figure of 3,958 people dead and more than 9,000 still missing.
Late on Sunday Othman Abdel Jalil, the health minister in one of Libya’s rival governments, told a news conference that the number of people buried so far was 3,283.
The Libyan official reiterated his call to the media to follow the official numbers which are given daily by the Health Ministry.
“We regret that we saw a lot of statements being made by local officials and some came from international sides during which they gave numbers which can cause panic among the people,” the official said.
He added that he regretted to see that the UN on its site put the number of dead in eastern Libya at 11,300.
“I don’t know where they got this from,” he said. “When I got in touch with them they mentioned it was from the Red Crescent, but when I talked to the Red Crescent they said that did not talk to them.”
The minister said the UN based its report on information coming from a man who claimed to be speaking on behalf of the Red Crescent and that he lived outside Libya.
Conflicting accounts have emerged from Libya, which is divided between warring administrations in East and West.
Earlier in the week, the mayor of Derna had said it was possible up to 20,000 people had died there.
The WHO said nearly 4,000 people who were killed in the floods had been identified.
A group of Libyan data analysts and researchers also said there had been around 4,000 confirmed deaths in a count on Saturday.
A powerful storm dubbed Daniel hit Libya on Sept. 10 after earlier lashing Greece, Bulgaria, and Turkey.
Two dams broke in the mountains above the port of Derna, washing away large areas of the city of around 100,000 people.
Al-Shukri of the Libyan Red Crescent said on Sunday that the search and rescue situation in Derna was “better” now with the engagement of several Libyan and foreign teams.
While he did say that survivors had been hauled up from under the rubble through Saturday, he declined to give specific figures.
Concerns are growing about water safety in Derna.
Detected cases of diarrhea totaled 150 in the city on Saturday due to contaminated drinking water.
But the director of Libya’s National Centre for Disease Control, Haider al-Sayeh, said Sunday that field teams from the centre managed to reduce the cases, and advised locals to avoid well water and use bottled water.
The head of the internationally recognized Tripoli-based government, Abdel-Hamid Dbeibeh, ordered the provision of drinking water to flood-affected areas, his administration said Sunday. His government does not have actual control over the eastern part of Libya.
Abdel Jalil said Sunday that a vaccination campaign has been launched to protect all those living in Derna and working in it, including military, medical staff and journalists.
The minister also announced that a “horrific traffic accident” took place on Sunday which led to the death of four Greek rescue workers who were on their way to Derna.
Abdel Jalil said 15 others were wounded in the accident, of which seven were in critical condition and eight were stable.
He said the Greek team had consisted of 19 rescue members.
In total, the accident killed seven people, as the aid workers’ vehicle crashed into a car carrying a Libyan family, according to Jalil.
The Greek military initially confirmed three deaths late on Sunday night.
Two other members of the rescue team were missing, it said in a statement on Facebook.
Three of the family of five died in the accident, while the other two were seriously injured.
Libya has been in turmoil since the overthrow of dictator Moamer Gaddafi in 2011.
Countless militias are still fighting for power and influence in the oil-rich country. The conflict is further fuelled by foreign states. All diplomatic efforts to settle the conflict peacefully have failed.
News
Isaac Fayose loses wife
Isaac Fayose, brother of former Ekiti State Governor, Ayo Fayose, has announced the death of his wife after a prolonged battle with cancer.
The social media commentator shared the sad news on Instagram with a candle image, alongside a farewell message.
“Rest in peace my darling wife, odabo oyinbo mi”, he wrote.
Before her death, Fayose had opened up about the severity of her illness.
He said he travelled to Australia to spend time with his family, but was met with a painful reality as his wife had become extremely weak due to cancer.
He explained that she was no longer able to speak or carry out basic daily activities. According to him, the woman who once welcomed him at the airport could no longer do so, and he had to make his way from the airport by Uber.
He also described how roles had reversed in the home, saying he now had to take care of her, including cooking for her, as she could no longer do so herself. He added that he spent time beside her, singing her favourite songs, while she responded only by holding his hand.
In his emotional reflection, he also spoke about life and wealth, stressing that money and material possessions could not stop illness or death, and questioned the actions of those who use public office to take what belongs to others.
News
22 political parties submit digital membership register to INEC
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has confirmed that all 22 registered political parties in Nigeria have submitted their membership registers in compliance with the Electoral Act 2026.
In a statement issued on Friday, the Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee, Mohammed Haruna, said the submissions were completed on May 8, two days ahead of the extended deadline set by the Commission.
According to INEC, the extension became necessary after political parties raised concerns over the original timeline during a meeting held on March 24.
The Commission had initially fixed April 21 as the deadline for the submission of membership registers in the Revised Timetable and Schedule of Activities for the 2027 General Election.
However, following consultations with political parties, INEC announced on March 27, 2026, that the deadline would be moved to May 10, 2026.
The adjustment, INEC said, was made to align with Section 77(4) of the Electoral Act 2026 and the actual dates chosen by political parties for their primaries.
Under the revised timetable, political parties are permitted to conduct their primaries between April 23 and May 30, 2026. The law also requires each party to submit its membership register to the Commission not later than 21 days before the date of its primary election.
INEC stated that all registered political parties complied with the requirement within the extended timeframe.
“The Commission is pleased to note that all registered parties submitted their registers as of 8th May 2026, two days before the extended deadline,” the statement said.
The electoral body added that the submitted registers would now undergo the necessary verification processes in accordance with the law.
INEC reiterated its commitment to conducting free, fair, credible and inclusive elections in Nigeria.
According to the Commission’s timetable for the 2027 General Election, elections into the offices of President and members of the National Assembly are scheduled for January 16, 2027, while governorship and state assembly elections will take place on February 6, 2027.
News
ISWAP deputy commander killed in Nigeria
Abu-Bilal al-Minuki, the deputy commander of the Islamic State terrorist group, ISIS, has been killed in Nigeria.
US President Donald Trump said al-Minuki was killed in a “complex mission” carried out by Nigerian and American troops.
The US president shared updates on the operation in a social media post late Saturday.
“Tonight, at my direction, brave American forces and the Armed Forces of Nigeria flawlessly executed a meticulously planned and very complex mission to eliminate the most active terrorist in the world from the battlefield,” Trump wrote.
“Abu-Bilal al-Minuki, second in command of ISIS globally, thought he could hide in Africa, but little did he know we had sources who kept us informed on what he was doing.
“He will no longer terrorise the people of Africa, or help plan operations to target Americans.
“With his removal, ISIS’s global operation is greatly diminished.”
Trump also acknowledged and thanked the Nigerian government for its “partnership on this operation”.
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