An Open Letter to the international community concerning the tragedy of the citizens of Derna, Libya; a call for urgent intervention to save innocent lives.
Prepared by the International Movement for Libya
When the international community came together to support the Libyan people in their victorious revolution their aim was to promote peace and build a stable civil state underpinned by democratic values and the peaceful transfer of power. Working with their international partners they sought to develop a new Libya.
However, some countries in the region have intervened in a way that has torn the fabric of Libyan society apart. These countries have resorted to means contrary to international law and the principles of the United Nations. They have violated Security Council resolutions by arming parties to the conflict in Libya (as reported in the Guardian, Telegraph, and New York Times) which has lead to massacres by militias in the city of Benghazi. The United Nations envoy has taken no effective action with regards these international crimes and has remained silent on crimes committed in cities across Libya, including in the city of Derna, which is the subject of this Open Letter.
Ladies and Gentlemen: The city of Derna, with a population of more than 120,000, has been suffering a suffocating siege by armed militias for more than three consecutive years. Children are being deprived of their milk and medicines. The people of the city are suffering starvation and mass deprivation of their rights. Armed militias are trying to subjugate them, even though the people of Derna defeated Islamic State even after it committed human rights violations against them and tried to embed itself in their city. Instead of supporting the youth of Derna to continue to fight Islamic State today, they are being subjected to a heavy bombardment by Egyptian, UAE and Libyan warplanes and indiscriminate shelling by ground forces from this same coalition of countries.
And so ..
We call for immediate and urgent intervention to save the lives of the civilians of Derna, to deliver food and medicine, to open safe corridors so patients and those with special needs can reach hospitals outside the city. Urgent international intervention is required to avoid a humanitarian catastrophe, as we have seen in the city of Benghazi.
We, the International Group for Libya, propose that a ship be launched from a nearby regional port to deliver medicine and food to save the lives of the innocent people of Derna. We will buy food and medicine which we will transfer to an international organization for this purpose.
With all appreciation and peace,
Omar Al Hassi
Former Prime Minister of Libya &
President of the International Movement for Libya
