By Olfa Andolsi.
Tunis, 9 October 2017:
Sabratha’s municipal council has set up a committee to assess the damage resulting from the three weeks of fighting in the town between the now victorious Anti-IS Operations Room (AIOR) and the Amu brigade. It has called on those affected to bring details of their losses to the council offices.
Most of the destruction is in the town centre. In the main street, Shara Al-Sahli (“Coastal Road’), some 30 buildings were severely damaged. But buildings elsewhere were also hit by firing.
The council’s move will enable to it to prepare claims for compensation from the government.
Its crisis committee has identified more than 3,000 local families who displaced by the fighting, mainly from the town centre, and is providing for some of their needs in cooperation with the Red Crescent Society and the International Committee of the Red Cross. Help is also being provided by local activists and volunteers.
Following AIOR’s victory and the flight of the Amu brigade, the Presidency Council said that its government of national accord (GNA) would provide whatever help was needed by Sabratha.
Already, the undersecretary of the GNA’s education ministry, Adel Juma, has been to the town to find out the extent of damage to schools and educational institutions. On Sunday, he met with local education officials and promised to provide urgently whatever furnishings and teaching aids were required to start the new school year on time.
Meanwhile, a team from the GNA’s health ministry has inspected the damage to the Sabratha’s healthcare facilities.
Headed by Sarraj Al-Soury of the ministry’s inspection and follow-up department, it visited Sabratha Teaching Hospital, which took a number of shell hits during in the fighting, and the National Institute of Oncology, which was one of the last places held by the Amu brigade. The team also visited a number of healthcare centres.
