Death in Derna: After the 9/11 Deluge

If you think there is a disaster in Derna, think again. This is not just a disaster, it is a catastrophe. A deluge has wiped out nearly 25% of the city, making the rest uninhabitable.

This is a deluge of biblical proportions, and it happened on September 11, marking the day that Libya will forever remember as its worst natural disaster in modern history.

A photo from Derna on Tuesday after Storm Daniel by PIX 

Photos from Planet Live Satellite show the before and after of Derna City, and they speak for themselves about the scale of the catastrophe that Libyans have had to endure alone so far.

Derna on 2/9 and on 12/9 
Benjanim Strick and Planet 

According to the latest official numbers from Libya, over 3,000 people have died while 10,000 are missing.

Egyptians Lost in the Floods

The first batch of bodies of Egyptians who died in Derna began to cross the borders and return home on Tuesday.

The first batch was 150 Egyptians who were identified and transferred to the Tobruk Health Center's morgue in food trucks, as the morgues in Derna's hospitals had no space.

Pray for Libya: Storm Daniel Strikes Derna, Killing Thousands

Libya Needs Our Prayers, Thoughts, and Aid

Storm Daniel hit the eastern parts of Libya on Sunday, bringing heavy rains and flooding. The results were horrifying.

The heaviest rainfall occurred in the early hours of Sunday morning, with some areas receiving up to 250 mm (10 inches) of rain in just a few hours. There were two dams protecting the city. The two dams were the Wadi Derna Dam and the Al-Gharbi Dam. 

Both dams collapsed as a result of the heavy rains and flooding caused by Storm Daniel Medicane. The collapse of the dams released a massive amount of water into the city, which caused widespread damage and loss of life.

The Wadi Derna Dam is located on the Wadi Derna River, which is a major waterway that runs through the city. The dam was built in the 1970s to control flooding and provide water for irrigation. The Al-Gharbi Dam is located on the Al-Gharbi River, which is a smaller river that flows through the city. The dam was built in the 1980s to provide water for drinking and industrial use.

Both of them could not stand against the heavy rain that turned into floods. The floodwaters swept away homes, businesses, and vehicles.

The storm also caused mudslides, which further damaged infrastructure and made it difficult for rescue workers to reach affected areas. There are rescue workers who died while saving the people.

The power grid was knocked out in many areas, leaving people without electricity. The water supply was also disrupted, making it difficult for people to get clean water.

At first, it was reported that 150 people had been killed. By Monday afternoon, that number had jumped to 2,000 in the city of Derna alone. The Libyan government says that over 5,000 people are still missing.

Derna survived ISIS and civil war but did not survive Storm Daniel 

The death toll in Derna is higher than the number of victims of the recent earthquake in Morocco. That earthquake, which was the worst in over a century, killed over 2,800 people nationwide according to the latest official numbers on Monday

In Derna, whole neighbourhoods have been wiped out by the floods. One Libyan official called it the worst natural disaster to hit the country since 1963.

#Coronavirus on the Nile : March 2022’s Covid-19 coverage in Egypt and Arab world “Live”

It is a new month under the Coronavirus pandemic, unfortunately.

It is the third March Egypt and several Arab countries live through the Covid-19 pandemic.

Needless to say thanks to the Russian invasion to Ukraine, the whole world forgot within a week something called “Coronavirus”.

Egyptian nurse holding a Covid-19 vaccine dose "UNICEF" 

Anyhow, there is good news this month as starting from Mid February the daily cases of coronavirus in Egypt and other Arab countries became to decline again and it seems that we are at the end of that Omicron wave that hit hard. “I know first hand”.

Hopefully inshallah we witness the dismissal of this virus soon and not its comeback in another variant due to the Russian invasion and the new Ukrainian refugees' crisis.

Please stay safe and try to get the booster if you can.

Get vaccinated if you are not vaccinated, please.

Below is our live coverage of everything coronavirus in Egypt and the Arab world in March.

#Coronavirus on the Nile : February 2022’s Covid-19 coverage in Egypt and Arab world “Live”

It is a new month under the Coronavirus pandemic unfortunately.

It is the third February Egypt and several Arab countries live through the Covid-19 pandemic.

Egypt and several Arab countries are currently living during the Omicron wave.

A girl sensitizing her hand at Cairo International Book Fair in New Cairo
"Egypt's Health Ministry"

For some countries , it is the fourth wave for some countries and the fifth for others.

Personally, I was test positive for coronavirus in the last week in January but I am recovering thank God.

Hopefully, this month will witness the decline of that Coronavirus wave and

Please stay safe and try to get the booster if you can.

Get vaccinate if you are not vaccinated please.

Below is our live coverage for everything coronavirus in Egypt and the Arab world in February.

#Coronavirus on the Nile : Sweet November Covid-19 coverage in Egypt and Arab world “Live”

It is another new month in the time of the coronavirus pandemic in Egypt and the World.

It is Sweet November, the second November in the time of coronavirus.

The man with the mask, the camel and the pyramid in Giza in 2020
"AFP'

October witnessed an escalation in the coronavirus cases as the country began its peak moment in the coronavirus’ fourth wave.

It is expected to see a decline in the cases in November, at least in its second half.

In Mid November, on 15 November exactly the Egyptian government will make vaccination mandatory on public servants nationwide. Either to be vaccinated or to present a negative PCR every two weeks.

More vaccines are set to arrive in the upcoming weeks

The government set a goal to vaccinate 40 million Egyptians by the end of 2021.

Anyhow Please stay safe, keep your social distance and get vaccinated as soon as possible.

Here is our monthly live coverage of everything coronavirus below.

#Coronavirus on the Nile : October’s Covid-19 coverage in Egypt and Arab world “Live”

It is another new month in the time of the coronavirus pandemic in Egypt and the World.

It is October and many believe that all the year should be October, well I won’t say no except I miss the Octobers without Coronavirus and its anxiety.

On the first day of school in Cairo on 9 October 2021 "Sayed Hassan"

Currently, Egypt is having its coronavirus fourth wave moment and according to officials, we are going to see it peak in the upcoming three weeks.

Nevertheless, the Egyptian government is trying to intensify its efforts to accelerate the vaccination process, especially it has received millions of doses donated by other foreign countries like the United States. It is expected though as the academic year will start

The government set a goal to vaccinate 40 million Egyptians by the end of 2021. It also set a goal to vaccinate also all university students and staff before the academic year would kick off on 9 October.

We will see if it reaches that goal or not.

Anyhow Please stay safe, keep your social distance and get vaccinated as soon as possible.

Here is our monthly live coverage of everything coronavirus below.

#Coronavirus on the Nile : Covid-19 of September in Egypt and Arab world “Live Coverage”

It is another new month in the time of the coronavirus pandemic in Egypt and the World.

It is not over yet but it is getting better.

It is September and Egypt is having a gradual steady official increase in coronavirus cases and fatalities on a daily basis.

Egyptian men follow social distancing as they get falafel from a small shop
"Ahmed Abdel Fattah/Documentaries"

Unofficially you began to hear and know more cases of coronavirus again in your circle, mostly for non-vaccinated people.

We are now speaking about the Delta variant which the health ministry admitted in August officially that was spotted in Egypt during July contrary to the statements of health officials. 

The Egyptian government continues to vaccinate people but still, it is a slow process compared to the population number.

Health experts expect that the fourth wave of coronavirus will hit the country in September, thus we have to take our precautions to protect ourselves and over beloved ones.

Please stay safe, keep your social distance and get vaccinated as soon as possible.

Here is our monthly live coverage of everything coronavirus below.

#Coronavirus on the Nile : August’s Coronavirus in Egypt and Arab world “Live Coverage”

It is another new month under the coronavirus pandemic in Egypt and the World.

It is August and it seems that we may start to see an increase in the cases of coronavirus in Egypt.

The official number of cases declined to its lowest point in July in Egypt but at the end of the month, it began to increase unofficially and officially.

A masked lady buying plastic flowers in Giza from a street vendor 
by Eslam Gomaa 

The health experts in the country expect the country to enter its coronavirus’ fourth wave in September already.

Egypt did not have this expansion in mass vaccination as expected in July but hopefully, it will catch up in August.

Countries like Iraq and Tunisia were hit hard in July.

Algeria and Morocco also witnessed a huge increase in cases of coronavirus.

Please stay safe, keep your social distance and get vaccinated as soon as possible.

Here is our monthly live coverage of everything coronavirus below.

#Coronavirus on the Nile : June’s Coronavirus “Live Coverage”

It is another new month under the coronavirus pandemic.

It is June and we supposedly start to witness the end of the third wave of coronavirus that hit the country in April and May.

The official number of cases began to decline in the last week of May.

At the same time, we began to witness a true increase in the number of people who got vaccinated “I got my first dose in the last week of May” as Egypt began to receive more shipments of coronavirus vaccines.

Still, Egypt got a long road to safety for real.

The majority of the people in Egypt still act as if there is no coronavirus unfortunately despite all the infections and fatalities.

Please stay safe, keep your social distance and get vaccinated as soon as possible.

Here is our monthly live coverage of everything coronavirus below.

Coronavirus on the Nile : The COVID-19 Spring of March “Live updated”

And the time comes again a new live updates post for 15 days to cover everything coronavirus as much as we can.

The mass vaccination in Egypt continues but in a very slow phase.

There are not many people registering on the website launched by the Ministry of Health and it is a problem the officials are speaking about publicly.

It is a problem and it has several reasons.

ِAn Egyptian lady receiving her first dose of the vaccine in Cairo 
"Adel Eissa" 

The target age group is the elderly and chronic disease patients. Not all elderly and chronic disease patients have access to the internet or know the website, especially in the countryside.

We need more campaigns targeting those people.

Another reason: The God damned bloody conspiracy theories.

I thought that the conspiracy theories were not that effective till I know that in working classes bloody WhatsApp messages are being shared warning about the vaccines and how they will round people in streets to be vaccinated !!

Another reason: Some people do not want the Chinese Sinopharm vaccine and want the AstraZeneca vaccine but Egypt has not got enough jabs yet from either vaccine. 

Another new reason: Some people do not want the Chinese vaccine nor the AstraZeneca vaccine especially after its suspension in seven countries :((

It is madness

Now, here is our live update below for another 15 days.

Coronavirus on the Nile : Eid Al-Adha week edition

First of all Happy and Blessed Eid to all Muslims around the globe celebrating Eid Al-Adha in time of coronavirus. This is the second Eid to celebrate under the coronavirus pandemic. We celebrated from a couple of months ago Eid El-Fitr. It is not a big secret that this will be an Eid Al-Adha to remember in a lifetime.

Only 10,000 Muslim pilgrims are currently performing Islam’s greatest lifetime pilgrimage to the Holy Land.

Last year, there were over two million pilgrims from around the globe were in Mecca but this year and due to the global pandemic, the Saudi government decided to keep it small with only 10,000 selected pilgrims from living inside the Kingdom.

Masjid Al Haram on Wednesday during the performance
of Tawaaf Al Qudum on the Day of Tarwiyah

There are native Saudis and foreign residents from 160 countries participating in that very unique experience in a very difficult time.

It is a strange scene to see the Holy land empty like that.

May Allah end this pandemic before next year’s Eid inshallah.

Back in Egypt, the decline in the infected daily tally I believe currently is encouraging the public to live their lives as if there is no coronavirus.

Egyptian officials are asking the public to follow the precautionary measures and social distancing policies but it seems all those requests go in vain.

Most of the people do not wear face masks anymore in the streets. They do not even care for the fines imposed by the Egyptian government.

I am worried just like many other people that after this decline in the infected daily tally, Egypt may witness another increase like in other countries, e.g the US and Spain.

Coronavirus on the Nile : Egypt passes the COVID-19 peak according to officials

Egypt has passed the COVID-19 peak according to health officials on Saturday following the drop in the daily infection rates and deaths, nevertheless, there are warnings that people should not give up their precautions.

Men wearing protective face masks walk
in downtown Cairo"Reuters"

Doctors speak off the record about how the numbers truly decreased in the hospitals.

Yet health officials including minister of health Hala Zayed are asking the people to extra cautious 

Also, I can’t ignore the WHO EMRO health officials who warned that the countries of the region are still in danger.

Personally, when I went to buy our grocery and do some quick shopping I was shocked at how the majority of the people in the streets did not wear masks, some of them wore it only when they are inside big supermarket chains or big shops with strict mask policies.

Needless to say, Egypt is facing several challenges this week as coronavirus is still there. Aside from the GERD Dam talks which supposedly will be resumed on Tuesday, we are facing a possible Egyptian military intervention in Libya. It is a tough week and hopefully, coronavirus won’t make it tougher inshallah.

Here is our liveblogging widget.

Coronavirus on the Nile : Week No.19 “Live Updated”

Here we are with the start of the new week under the coronavirus pandemic.

According to the media calculations, it is the 19th week in Egypt since the outbreak of the virus in Mid-February.

A cute couple wearing masks in Port Said
by Fadel Dawod

Now we start the new week with over 600,000 students are heading on Sunday to the fearful exams of the thanaweya amma high school despite the parents and the Egyptian Medical Syndicate’s concerns about their safety.

. We start a new week and it seems that things politically and diplomatically as well militarily are hot for the current political administration of Egypt with talks about direct Egyptian military intervention in Libya as well as escalating the GERD matter in the UN Security Council.

More businesses and avenues are opening this week. 

The coronavirus continues to spread at the same.

Last week, the numbers of daily infections surged to its highest record but it came down again this week’s Saturday.

Here is the live blogging widget.

Hisham Al-Ashmawy is arrested in Libya and it is a big deal

Egypt has officially demanded Libya to extradite the country’s most wanted man Hisham Ashmawy after his surprising arrest earlier in Libya.
I think within hours the man who was sentenced to death in Egypt in at least two military trials, will be transferred back home.

Hisham Al-Ashmawy after his arrest
in Derna 

According to Libya’s National army aka “Hafter’s forces”, Al-Ashmaway was arrested in the city of Derna that was once a stronghold of Al-Qaeda fighters in the Eastern city earlier Monday. “About 3.30 am Libya local time”. 

He was found along a group of his men in El-Maghar district in the city, which was the last part of it that was not liberated yet from Islamist militants’ control.

What I have read so far, the Libyan forces got intel information from Cairo about Ashmawy.
The spokesperson of Libyan national armed forces said on social media that the 1980-born was wearing an explosive belt when he was busted.

The spokesperson added that due to the surprise and shock, he could not use it.
Some say that Al-Ashmawy did not use it and resist the Libyan army because he was accompanied by women and children.
To be specific the widow of Omar Rifai Sorour and her four children.
Egyptian Omar Rifai Sorour was a prominent member of Al-Qaeda in Libya who was killed in June 2018.
Omar Sorour was the militant group’s Islamic jurist.

Days at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo : Some of its hidden jewels “Vol.1”

Egypt’s Museum of ancient Egyptian antiquities in Cairo aka the Egyptian Museum celebrated its 115th birthday in November and since then I wanted to share a new thing about it but what was happening in Egypt and the world since the last weekend in November did not give me a chance.
It is never too late to celebrate the oldest Museum in Egypt, the Middle East and Africa.
Here is a small video I have made about some of the hidden jewels of that beautiful Museum despite all its flaws.
Those hidden jewels are mostly overshadowed by the great Tutankhamun’s collection.
First of here is the video, I hope you like it and also you subscribe to my channel as I update it from time to time with nice as well serious things.

I know that I am a better photographer than a videographer but one is learning from her mistakes whether from photography or videography.
Now here are clearer views of those hidden jewels.

We got our golden boy with an amazing beautiful mask.I could not believe how beautiful it was or how it was full of details.

King Tut's Mask after saving his beard thanks to the German experts

I took that photo for the mask after recovering from the epoxy injury thing that happened and the Egyptian officials do not want to speak about.
Here are also a couple of photos of some of his amazing artifacts. Ironically, this is is a small pharaoh who was not that strong and ruled for a decade only.

Meet Egypt’s Ansar Al-Islam, the not so new Al-Qaeda group

If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles.

Sun Tzu,

The Art of War

A little-known militant group claimed responsibility early Friday on 3 November of the 19th October’s Al-Wahat Shootout that took place between Egyptian police forces and a group of unidentified militants in Egypt’s Western desert where 16 police personnel were killed from Five weeks ago.

The group is called “Ansar Al-Islam” and it released online a statement on Social Media Network "Telegram", at one of its channels linked to Al-Qaeda “The Sharia Guards” claiming responsibility for the shootout calling it “Lions’ Den battle”, detailing from its side what happened and revealing also some important information.
The statement has got no videos or photos to support that claim though.

On 19th October, Egypt’s police fore convey was involved in a shootout with a group of militants. According to official statements, 16 police personnel were killed and 13 others were injured in one of the worst attacks targeting Egyptian security forces outside North Sinai.
The following days witnessed a joint operation between Egyptian armed forces and Egyptian police against terrorist hideouts claiming scores of them as well liberating police officer Mohamed El-Hayes who was captured by the militants during the shootout.

Interestingly, very few Egyptian media and news outlets covered that news of that militant group claiming responsibility while the majority of news outlets did not share it in the same enthusiasm like the news of the attack or saving Captain Mohamed El-Hayes. I do not know why for real !?
Some cited the reason was the Counterterrorism law and its 54-articles that include one article prohibiting the broadcast or publication of terrorist statements in the media.
Yet, I think there is a difference between being a terrorist organization’s mouthpiece and declaring that a little known terrorist organization affiliated with one of the world’s biggest terrorist organizations claimed responsibility for the most brutal attack against police force recently outside Sinai !!!!

A photo at the scene taken on 21 October showing security personnel
sitting on a police vehicle "AFP

The people need to know what they are facing already !!

Now here are a couple of thoughts I wanted to share it with you since that Friday from two weeks ago regarding the group and its telegram channel before it disappears. Luckily, I wrote down all my notes and observations before it vanishes. I do not know if its admins decided to close it down or it was closed down by the government or it became a secret one.

The Telegram Channel

Interestingly, the “Sharia Guards” channel was created on 19 October 2017 as Egypt’s first so-called “Jihadist” channel adding that its administrators are the so-called “The Forts of Glory’s lions” in Arabic.

Minya Massacre : blood on sand "A recap"

Again it is one of those mornings, one of those Fridays that you woke up to find a massacre taken place in the south of the country and you want to go back to the bed again praying that this is an awful nightmare.

At 11 AM Cairo Local time "CLT" at that the same time millions of Egyptian Muslims were on their way to Friday prayers , a group of masked militants came on three 4x4 Cars and opened their fire randomly on a bus carrying Christian citizens at the desert western of Minya governorate' Idwa city according to the first official statement issued by Egypt's Ministry of Interior "MOI" at 1:28 PM CLT.

The MOI added that as security forces reached the attack's scene, it turned out that it happened at one of the desert sub-routes heading to Saint Samuel the Confessor monastery, which is 60 km away from the city of Maghagha , North of Minya in the heart of the Western Desert.

Two monks watching the attack scene "Reuters" 

It also stated up till then 26 Egyptian Christians were killed and other were injured.
Already we have known before that at least 26 people were killed while 25 others were injured. The victims included lots of children.

It turned out that it was not a bus but rather a convoy of Egyptian Christians heading to the 7th-century monastery.

A bus carrying worshipers from neighbor Bani Suef governorate as well a microbus carrying worshipers from Minya's villages headed were in their way when they were stopped by the militants.
According to eyewitnesses accounts that I have been reading all day and the MOI's statement, militants came on three 4x4 Cars and hell started.

Egypt and Daesh's Most Wanted !!!

Ironically, It seems that former army officer-turned to Al-Qaeda prince Hisham El-Ashamawy is not a wanted man in Egypt officially, but he is also a wanted man in Libya according to Egypt's enemies in Derna.
The Islamic State group aka Daesh also wants to see him dead !! !!
I told you it is ironic but yes the former Egyptian special forces  officer is a wanted man by both Egyptian government and Daesh.
Daesh claimed responsibility of killing 20 Egyptian Christian Copt workers last February and the Egyptian government answered back by air strikes in the city of Derna , Libya.
El-Ashamawy is already facing a military trial in Egypt and is said to be the main suspect in the assassination of former Egypt's prosecutor general Hisham Barakat.

Wanted dead 

The Islamic state aka Daesh in Libya released an announcement late last month showing the photo of El-Ashamawy demanding him dead.
That announcement reveals more information about the 35-years old former/defected special forces officer.
The married father of 2 boys  joined Ansar Beit Al-Maqdis “ABM”, the Sinai-based militant group in 2013 after his return in Syria.
It says also that he defected from ABM in 2014 and headed to Libya in the same year.
In Libya, precisely in Derna where Daesh announced the so-called  Derna Province, Hisham El-Ashmawy joined what they called “Sahawat council Derna” and  started a war against Daesh in the Libyan city.
The Sahawat council of Derna is affiliated with Shura council of Mujahideen in Derna, which is also affiliated with Al-Qaeda.
Since last October, there have been tough battles between the Al-Qaeda affiliated group and the Daesh affiliated group in Derna.

Anyone following that action in Libya !?

There is a  very serious developments taking place in Libya and surprisingly no one is paying it proper attention in the media.
According to Ahram Arabic website, the Egyptian forces near the borders with Libya issued a High-alert warning after the disappearance of the Libyan security forces from Musaid Border crossing a few days ago.

Musaid border crossing 

I have not seen anyone paying attention to this news.
Already this news comes after the clashes between Egyptian armed forces and “Terrorists” South East Siwa oasis in the Western Desert last week.

#RIP21: Revenge , Air Strike and another day in the Middle East

And another big day not only in Egypt but also in Libya. Hours after the announcement of President Abdel Fattah EL-Sisi that Egypt got the right to retaliate for the murder of the 21 Coptic Egyptian migrant workers by Islamic state “IS” militants in the right time and place , we woke up on Monday to find that Egyptian air forces already conducted air strikes in Libya.

The Egyptian air forces conducted an airstrike against IS’ camps, training camps and arms depots in Libya according to the official armed forces’ statement on the official army Spox Facebook. The statement did not mention the location of the strike or a specific number of losses among IS militants. Just board general words and two videos showing air jet fighters taking off their hangers.

Post by ‎الصفحة الرسمية للمتحدث العسكري للقوات المسلحة‎.

Hours later the Libyan armed forces issued a statement declaring that both Egyptian and Libyan air forces conducted airstrikes earlier today in the city of Derna, Eastern Libya. Through out the day the Libyans were the ones who were speaking and revealing information about the strike to the media. Needless to say we got two governments and two parliaments so you can imagine the confusion of who is who as well where.

Of course one must ask and wonder why the Egyptian air forces conducted an air strike on Derna and not Sirte where the Egyptian workers were kidnapped or Tripoli where they were beheaded according to the analysis of the video. I do not know why but I know that Derna was the first Libyan city to see an IS-affiliated militant group attempting to expand in the war-torn Libya. May be Derna was chosen because of it is close to Egypt and the decision to retaliate was needed to be taken quickly.

The Libyan armed forces and its men who spoke to Egyptian TV channels all day long claimed that nearly 64 IS militants were killed in the air strikes including 12 foreign fighters. 

The Islamic Police HQ in Derna By Johr Ali