The Libyan capital has seen water supply resumes Tuesday after two days of disruption following an attack on the Great Man-Made River, south of Tripoli, depriving over 2 million residents of water.
Earlier, Stephane Dujarric, spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General, expressed the organization’s deep concern over the disruption of water supply to Tripoli.
On Sunday, an armed group stormed a drinking water station on the Great Man-Made River, forcing employees to shut down water pipes connected to underground wells. These pipes supply Tripoli and other coastal areas with their needs of clean water.
The assailants demanded the Tripoli-based government release their leader Khalifa Ahnish’s brother, Mabrouk, who was jailed for belonging to an outlawed group.
The UN humanitarian coordinator, Maria Ribeiro, condemned the attack and said such actions “may be considered war crimes.”
The UN special envoy, Ghassan Salame, warned the UN Security Council that if the international community did not stop arms shipments to Libyan factions and demand an immediate ceasefire, it risked the partition of the country and further regional instability.
The water distribution agency says water supplies to Tripoli resumed on Tuesday, without elaborating.
“The crisis of halting water supplies has ended and flows have started,” the Great Man-Made River authority, a pipe network supplying ground water from the Sahara, said in a statement.
It insisted it does not take sides in the current civil strife and said water supplies should never be used to pursue any interest. “Water is God’s gift to all and should not be used to dictate or bargain under any conditions at all,” the authority said.
Moreover, the Government of National Accord (GNA) accused the armed group of seeking to “lock the water from the capital to lower the morale of its inhabitants”
The latest violence in Libya erupted in early April when the Libyan National Army, led by Khalifa Haftar, advanced on the capital city, the seat of the internationally recognized GNA, just as various parties in Libya were about to sit down for talks on the beleaguered nation’s future.
The renewed fighting also began during a visit by the UN secretary-general in his bid for the reconciliation of the rival Libya factions ahead of the reunification conference.
