TRIPOLI, Libya/ANKARA
A team of EU experts is working to uncover the causes of mysterious fires that broke out in dozens of homes nearly two months ago in western Libya.
“The EU expert team continues its field operations in Al-Asabi’a as part of its response to the recent wave of fires,” a government statement said Wednesday.
The team is operating “with direct support from the Libyan government, which has activated the EU Civil Protection Mechanism,” it said.
Experts are conducting “on-site inspections to assess environmental and human damage and determine the technical causes of the fires.”
Al-Asabi’a, located 120 kilometers (75 miles) southwest of Tripoli, has witnessed a series of “mysterious fires” since Feb. 19, resulting in cases of residents suffocating and damage to dozens of homes.
The municipality said Wednesday that the EU team “used state-of-the-art equipment, tools, and methodologies to investigate the fires’ causes.”
It said the team ruled out gases, chemical or physical materials, or environmental pollution as the source, without disclosing the actual cause.
Al-Asabi’a said March 2 that calm has returned to the city, after the fires destroyed at least 150 homes.
The fires are concentrated in one area of the city but in several neighborhoods, forcing families to vacate their homes, according to an Anadolu correspondent.
