Derna: Libya's Hidden Calamity

Since Libya has not made any headlines in recent times, it is worth taking a look at the country's current situation.

In this episode of The Rage podcast, CJ Werleman talks with Ghaith al Sanusi, a Libyan activist from the city of Derna, which is still under siege by the forces of General Khalifa Haftar, commander of the Libyan National Army, a brutal militia that is still supported by many different foreign players.

“The situation in the Old City is awful. There’s wounded people that have no medicine, nothing to eat, and nothing to drink. Many can’t move and are just waiting for their fate to be met. Many are using handsaws to cut off infected limbs and then covering wounds with electrical tape. Others have died under indiscriminate bombing by Egypt, UAE, and France," al Sanusi said. 

Derna is a good example of the whole calamity in Libya.

The oil-rich port city lies between the desert, green mountains, and the Mediterranean Sea in eastern Libya, and its population has become witness to some of the worst atrocities since the civil war in the country began in 2011. 

Al Sanusi describes the events in Derna as a "genocide" and "ethnic cleansing", and he also says that he does not recognize the current government that is responsible for all these crimes.

General Haftar, who himself once lived in the United States and was allegedly trained and managed by the CIA in the hope of overthrowing Muammar al Gaddafi during the Cold War period, seeks total control of Libya to become its new dictator.