U.N. condemns water shutoff to Libyan capital

The United Nations humanitarian coordinator for Libya on Friday condemned the cutting off of water supply to the capital Tripoli over the past week as “particularly reprehensible” and said it must stop immediately.

An armed group on Monday stormed a control station at Shwerif, stopping water from being pumped and threatening workers, the Great Man Made River Project, which supplies water to much of Libya, said in a statement.

The armed group is seeking to use the water cut-off as pressure to force the release of detained family members, U.N. humanitarian coordinator Yacoub El Hillo said in a statement.

The supply has been cut to more than 2 million people in Tripoli and nearby towns and cities.

Electricity supply has also been repeatedly cut in Tripoli and some other areas over the past week.

“At this moment when Libya is fighting the threats of the COVID-19 pandemic, access to water and electricity is more than ever life saving, and such individual acts to collectively punish millions of innocent people are abhorrent and must stop immediately,” Hillo said.

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