The double tragedy of Libya's floods for migrants

The floods that hit the Libyan city of Derna were so severe that little attention was paid to the illegal migrants who were passing through the city on their way to Europe. The first victims were migrants who were in Derna at the time of the tragedy. The Derna region is a hunting ground for criminal organisations and militias regularly criticised by international NGOs for illegal activities, particularly human trafficking. This change of direction has been welcomed by Brussels, which has just agreed to allocate 67 million euros ($70.6m) to a Tunisian migration aid programme. It remains to be seen how the criminal organisations will react to this desire to regain control.