The us led nato invasion that chopped Muhammad Khaddafi in 2011. Now this imperialist invasion was followed by unjust sanctions that render the nation unable to maintain critical infrastructure, including dams which failed during the recent deadly storm. So is nato directly or indirectly responsible for the unprecedented catastrophic flows in libya. Hello, im mubarak kenya and this is africa today. In this weeks. Episode we are focusing on the recent horrific flags in libya that left thousands dead in the port city of dunam. The second part of our program is on the new antiimperialist alliance in the sahel region, bringing together burkina faso, mali and niger. So stay with us and drop us a line to our social media handle as you watch. Libyas deadly floods and natos role. On the 10th of september 2023, storm daniel made landfall in libya, resulting in severe de weather conditions, including strong winds and southern heavy rainfall, affecting several areas in the country. The torrential rainfall led to the collapse of two dams leading to massive flooding that killed thousands with reports indicating that the missing outnumbered the dead. One thing is clear, the disaster could have been avoided de if the two dams were regularly maintained. A Turkish Company had commence repairs for the dams in 2010, but the project was suspended after a nato led invasion of the country. The people of libya, reeling from the death of their loved ones and damaged infrastructure are now asking who is responsible for the deadly floods. Oh god, even one body, my god, just let me find even one body. God have mercy on. Who is responsible . What is the fault of the people and souls who died . Why would a whole family die . A whole family was finished. For more on who is responsible for the devastating flad in libya, we have contacted dr. Wesley seal. Hes a member of the south african ruling anc party and an international ruling. Expert, thanks for your time sir, today, thank you very much for having me, thank you very much, the catastrophic flows in libya shock the world and mainstream western Media Outlets are quick to blame Climate Change and internal rangles for the disaster, they have conveniently ignored the role played by the us led nato invasion of libya in the destruction of the countrys infrastructure, the dams that collapsed and caused deadly flags in libya had not been maintained for over decade. Now can we say that the us lead nato invasion of libya is to blame for the disastrous floods in the country . Yes, i think so. I think that it is absolutely correct to opportion a large responsibility of the lack of infrastructure in libya to nato. We were going through reports earlier of what the the infrastructure, the state of in infrastructure was before natos bombardment into. 2011 in libya, you would recall that libya had one of the best Infrastructure Systems on the african continent. This was started by heavy programs, heavy infrastructure programs deliberate infrastructure programs in the late 70s, so absolutely i think that this the infrastructure and the state of infrastructure and the plans, certainly for infrastructure before natos bombardment of of libya, was absolutely great and the infrastructure was there, libya was thriving as far as infrastructure is concerned, and of then of course sadly we had natos attack on libya. A Research Paper published in november 2022 by omar almuchtar university hydrologist abdel vaniz arsure warned that the dams holding back the seasonal waterway known as awadi needed urgent attention. A survivor speaks how family was wiped out by the horrific durna floods. The waves reached the fourth floor and we could see it close to us. They sweat people away from the top of buildings and we could see people carried by the flood water. My neighbors the touch. Family were swept away from the roof all together, is a massive disaster, we never expected anything like it. According to nature magazine, apart from Climate Change and internal strife, sanctions imposed on libya by western powers are also to blame for the horrific floods. We know that infrastructure needs to be maintained continuously, and so it is, it is a concern that the impact that sanctions have had on the Infrastructure Investment in libya, and so there should be no doubt that certainly the impact of sanctions, but also the the action by nato in libya would have had an impact on the strength and the capacity of the infrastructure, particularly when it comes to wall, dams or canals, wadies, and so i think that absolutely one would agree that the the sanctions on libya by the west that were unjust and not justified in the least had an impact on the infrastructure and so when that these disasters come along they have devastating effects on the local communities involved and and and leave a trail of of so many casualties and fatalities as we know libya is a rich country, it has some of the Largest Oil Reserves in africa. It has tens of billions of dollars in frozen assets in western countries. Now is it time that these western powers return these assets to libya at this juncture for the country to recover from the floods . The return of assets of libyan assets to to to libya is important certainly for us as africans, because i think that this is a challenge all on the african continent where our assets are sitting in foreign countries, but particularly as far as libya is concerned at this stage, it is important for these assets and faced with the humanitarian crisis that libya is faced with in the face of these devastating floods, that these assets must be of course returned to libya. This is important, its a pitty that after 12 years, that a flood or devastating flood should propel or encourage or demand from western countries. Is these assets, and so i think that it is absolutely correct that the libyan state and the Libyan Government should ask for the return of these assets given the humanitarian crisis that the libyan people are facing at this time. The United Nations is providing aid to areas affected by floods in libya and has issued an urgent appeal to donors for 71. 4 Million Dollars. The people of libya are also coming together to assist their compatriots. People from across the country are helping, what happened was a tragedy, but maybe we can benefit from it. People here are sad about the disaster, but also very happy and excited about the unity. After the disaster in libya, the us and European Countries have been stingy in providing assistance. The us only provided one Million Dollars in humanitarian aid and the uk promised to provide Million Pounds in aid. The assistant. From western countries is like drop in the butt. Now whats your opinion on this approach towards the libian aid by western countries . We we know that western countries have a practice of coming into our countries devastating it to attacks. Weve seen this in afghanistan, in iraq, in a number of other countries, and after theyve cause the devastation, they simply leave. Um and this was certainly the case again with libya, the devastation left in the wake of nato attacks, was horrific for the libya people and certainly for the region, but the the donations that have certainly been provided for and that is mentioned million us dollars from the United States government, Million Pounds from the british government, this this is indicative. Of a west that is not concerned about the people these countries and in this case libya, it comes in and it does this destruction to our countries. And then it simply leaves, and when these horrific, devastating occurrences occur, these natural disasters, these countries that have rought our countries, that have devastated our countries, that have flattened our countries or nowhere to be found. The collective grief in libya has resulted in riiling cry for National Unity in a country blighted by 12 years of conflict and division caused by the us lead nato invasion. The country, do you think this tragedy will result in leading libyan politicians uniting for the sake of the country . The action by nato in libya in 2011 certainly indicates the the the role of western countries specifically in the middle east and Northern Africa in particular, we know that the agenda of these western countries is to destabilize the middle east and in africa and that was, there should be no doubt that that was the case even 12 years ago, but i think what is important is for the libian people and the Libyan Government certainly to unite in the face of this disaster, so it is absolutely correct for us to encourage, and the au certainly in in in the face of this disaster, terrible, you humanitarian disaster, as you mentioned, and i think that that the libyan people must come together to unite so that they can Pay Attention to the issues and the challenges faced by their country but also of the region. Well, every cloud has a silver lining, hopefully the catastrophic flods in libya will unite this country that was divided after an imperialistic us led nato invasion. I like to thank our guest there today, dr. Wesley sell for his insight. Our next topic is a new antiimperial. Alliance in africa formed by burkina faso, mali and niger. Ill be back after a short break. Antimperialism alliance in africa. As predicted, ryad under pressure from washington may accept flimsy zionist american promises, so that the wagon will set afterwards what netanyahu called the new middle east that. Dinis like deceased shimon perez had always dreamed of. There is no arab world nor a palestinian cause in the map that netanyahulds. Rather, there is a Regional Power solely zionist israel supported by the United States of america, that plunders from arabs oil money to establish its superiority. Alas, everything is now out in the open. Normalizing relations between saudi arabia and the israeli entity will lead to the palestinians losing a friend who was only ashamed to deal with the zionists in public, and now. Has the chance to do it openly. Saudi arabia embraces zionists this week on the middy stream. In major advancement towards mutual cooperation, the governments of burkina faso, mali and niger have formed the alliance of sahel states. The move was finalized with the signing of the liptaco gorma chatter, named after the triborder region shared by the three countries in malis capital bamako on september the 16th. The birth of the alliance of sahel states is seen by many as a sign of the continued erosion of. And indeed western neolonialism in west africa. Malis foreign minister, is seen here announcing the formation of the alliance. The contracting parties will work to prevent, manage and resolve any armed rebellion or other threat to territorial integrity and sovereinity of each of the member countries of the alliance, giving priority to peaceful and means and if necessary to use force to deal with situations of breakdown, of peace and stability, user de la force pour faire face aux situations de rupture, de la paix et de la stabilite. For more on this Historical Alliance of sahel states, we have contacted collinweke, he is a Global Affairs analyst and member of the green party in belgium. Thanks for your time sir, today, its my pleasure to be with you. Thank you for having me. For readers, the European Union back g5 Sahel Alliance has reportedly been combating insergents and terrorists in this african region. Now will the new Sahel Alliance effectively lead to the end of the g5 Sahel Alliance relations between france and the three states you know have actually saw i mean the three states that now make up you know the new um what they call Sahel Alliance it had gone very very bad agitations all over the place because somehow they suddenly woke up to where the. Adequacys in um you know the relationship with france and just wanted them uh to leave, so after all of this um they are beginning to find reasons to believe that the new Sahel Alliance is attempt to actually invigorate um you know the old sentiments um you know around the french imperialism well. The fact is that irrespective of whether or not uh the alliance will survive or not, it looks like a line has been drawn on french activities in africa and no one can predict the shape is going to take, but certainly it will no longer be like it used to be. The west African Economic community block, echoas had threatend to invade niger to us the new mil. Military government that took over power in july, abdal musa, the ecos commissioner for political affairs, is seen speaking here last august on plans to intervene militarily in niger. All Member States of ecoas present here today, have all committed elements, they have committed their own equipment, they have committed their own resources to undertake. This mission. In response, burkina faso and mali declared their support for the military government in niger. They warn that any military intervention against niame would be considered declaration of war against their nations. See a rappeler que ca fait plus de 10 ans que Le Burkina Faso, le mali et le niger geront les consequences negative, consequences socioeconomiques, consequences securitaires, consequences. Politique, consequences humanitaire de laventure hasardeuse de lotan en libye, bien entendu, se pose la question, si ca nous a pris 10 ans, accepter encore une autre aventure de la meme nature, au niger nous prendrait combien dannees, on sait pas, 20 ans, 30 ans, 40 ans, 50 ans, une chose est sure, les presidents guita et le president traore ont clairement dit non, non et non, naccepterons pas dintervention militaires au niger, il en va de notre survie, et bien entendu, les chefs detat, du mali et du burkina, ont pris la ferme decision de laisser des actifs et non des passifs aux generations futures. The alliance of sahil states has come at the right time for niger to provide a cover of security from the warnings of military intervention from france and eccoops. Some analysts believe that this alliance might affect the standard. Of echoass and maybe even weaken this economic block. The emergence of the new Sahel Alliance is a complication of course that echo was can do without as matter of fact, you know, they are better of having everyone together working on the table and uh, you know, trying to achieve the economic integration that it was set up for in the first place. Uh, but i dont think that even with the formation of um the alliance with three um recassitrant countries that it is something, it is issue that keeps them echoas awake at night, no, i dont really think so, neither, is it something uh that is going to you know in the immediate uh actually destabilize the blog, i believe that um the block was Economic Community of west african state will be strengthened and it will not be weakened not withstanding the facts that you know uh the Sahel Alliance happen now while echoas had agreed to plans for a political transition as presented by burkina faso guine and mali, the block has firmly declared that is not going to use these engagements as a template. For nigeria, denying any discussion a transition, now what is the reason for a different approach towards nigeria by echoas . I think ecowas is trying to make a clean break from the past, um, as you know, ecowas had, you know, been described as a toothless bulldog that bags, but never bits, so um, you know, it does seem, from all intent and purpose that equas now wants to um, you know, do things in a way that doesnt. Have to you know relate to how they did them in the past for them it doesnt matter if it looks like they are applying um you know some sort of double standard so thats bearing that in mind i think was appears to have developed their own templates under nigerias president and that template actually means zero tolerance for you know military uh cool and uh to some extent one could say that that is actually you know protecting their own interest because the feeling is if it happens in niger, it could happen in nigeria, it could happen in silly road and all of that, so they decide that it is time to actually you know clamp down very very heavily on um you know the uh coup leaders. Now mali, burkina faso and niger are now all ruled by transitional governments that came to power through military cours. The masses in these countries supported the auster of regimes that were seen as surrogates of western powers, especially france. A protester opposed to france here in burkina faso. Le cas de la france. Alors Le Burkina Faso veut rompe toute relation qui existe entre ce pays. Et la france, donc on voudrait par ce signes de brulure du drapeau la france la, montrer a la france quon na plus besoin de de delle, a plus besoin de la france au burkinafaso, si la france etait notre partenaire qui devrait nous aider dans la Lutte Contre Le terrorisme, et depuis 2016 jusqua present il a pas eu de changement, nous croyons quelle merite pas la confiance la jeunesse burkinabe. Against pro france governments point to a paradigm shift where people see the militaries as their savior. You know the masses are beginning to wrise up be more assertive and so on and so forth, but we shouldnt make any mistake about the reasons that they are rising. They are rising not because uh they love these military officers, no, they are rising for two reasons, number one, yes, they are tired, they can now see through the. Imperiarism you know arrangement that france represents and they do not want to have it anymore, thats number one, and then number two, they are dejected, and anyone who shows up and says to them, listen, i am the mesia that is going to bring you out of you know the fail state status that your country is actually you know navigating towards, well they would jump and follow whoever that person is, that is essentially what we are seeing, but you see, if the military keep to the awards and improve the lot of the people, bring in uh, you know, prosperity in the country, well they can survive, the decision to form an alliance by niger, mali and burkina faso is seen by the people in these countries as a right move towards real independence by african countries. Now my last question, mr. Anueke, do you think these alliance will expand and incorporate more countries in future . Like i said earlier, mubarak, um, the sahela alliance was formed in the first instance, out of the exigency of um disgrunted insecure military officers who thought them, it would be best for. To group together to create you know some sense of false confidence and security around themselves. Now the question you ask yourself is if g5 sahel, which is um you know two countries larger than the current you know alliance couldnt survive, what is then they guarantee that the tiny g3 will just you know the. Sahel alliance with just three countries in it, is the one that now has the propensity to survive, that is doubtful, although we have to take into consideration that is situation is getting you know more and more there um the masses are beginning to rise all be more assertive and so on and so forth, well unfortunately our time is up for today, but one thing is clear, the master seker are rising and new alliances are emerging, this is definitely not in the interest of new colonial powers, i like to thank our guest today, collins nweke, a Global Affairs analyst and member of the green party in belgium. Well and that brings us to the end of this weeks edition of africa today, its always great having you watch the show, you can send your comments through our social media handle and also you can watch this episode and all our previous episode on our website pricetv. Ir, thanks lot for watching and goodbye for now. The headlines, the iranian army test fires and state of the art domestically made droms on the second day of largescale maneuvers. The Palestinian Authority calls a political scandal israels banning european foren ministers from visiting the occupied west bank and the Uks National Health Service leaders are worried about the impact of the ongoing industrial action by Junior Doctors and consultants