TheCable

The office of the attorney general of Libya has ordered the arrest of 16 officials, including Abdulmenam al-Ghaithi, mayor of Derna, a city worst hit by the devastating floods two weeks ago. 

Major parts of Derna, home to approximately 100,000 people, were swept away after Storm Daniel, an extremely deadly Mediterranean tropical-like cyclone, collapsed two dams and four bridges.

The flood submerged several buildings in eastern Libya while drowning some residents.

Al-Ghaithi had estimated that the number of deaths in the city could reach between 18,000 to 20,000 based on the number of districts destroyed by the flood.

Angry residents have blamed the authorities for the collapse of the dams, which had been built to hold back the flow into the seasonal riverbed running through the city.

However, a contract to repair the dams was never completed.

In a statement on Monday, a committee from the attorney general’s office said it had concluded its investigation.

The committee said officials of the water resources management breached a contract to repair the dams in 2014.

“Their mistakes contributed to the disaster of flood victims… and caused economic losses to the country,” the statement from the committee reads.

The committee added that it would continue to investigate those who abused the reconstruction projects, or benefited illegally from the abuse, until justice is done.