The eastern coastal city of Derna has been hit worst by the floods – and it was one of the most affected by Libya’s civil war, after Col Muammar Gaddafi was overthrown in 2011.
While different armed groups were fighting against each other, along with weak border controls and weak public security bodies, the Islamic State (IS) group started to gain strength in Derna in 2012.
In October 2014, a vast majority of the city was under control of IS, and it was the focus of bomb attacks by the international coalition.
In 2015, a coalition of armed groups called the Shura Council, backed by the Libyan Army in Tripoli, started fighting IS.
But there were to be three groups fighting for the city for almost a year, as powerful commander Khalifa Haftar started his military operation to take over Derna.
The Shura Council gained control of the city in late 2015. But it was besieged by Haftar’s forces for more than two years, being the only city in the east which was not controlled by Haftar.
After a war between 2018-2019, Haftar claimed Derna.
Years of fighting has led to huge levels of damage, especially on residential buildings and health facilities. Today, a large majority of displaced Libyans come from Derna.
Source: BBC
