Egyptians perform absentee funeral prayer for victims of Moroccan, Libyan disasters

CAIRO – 15 September 2023: Egyptian mosques nationwide performed on Friday the absentee funeral prayers for the victims of natural disasters in Morocco and Libya.

The official page of Al-Azhar Institution, the top Sunni Islamic body in Egypt, changed the official cover photo and profile picture on its official Facebook page in solidarity with the victims of the Moroccan earthquake and Libyan flood disaster.

The Grand Imam Dr. Ahmed Al-Tayeb, Sheikh of Al-Azhar, offered his condolences to the Libyan people for the victims of the devastating storm and floods, calling on peoples to give their hands to those who affected by these disasters.

Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah El Sisi directed the military, Wednesday to prepare a Mistral aircraft carrier to serve as a field hospital for the victims of Daniel storm that struck Libya.

Sisi directed the army to establish shelter camps in the western military zone for those affected by the tragedy.

The devastating story, Daniel, struck Libya and lead two dams in Derna city to collapse, killing so far more than 5,100 people while about 9,000 others are still missing. About 25 percent of the city was inundated. More than 70 dead bodies of Egyptian nationals who were killed in Libya floods were deported home and buried in their hometown Beni Suef, Upper Egypt, on Wednesday, Al-Arabyia Al Hadath reported.

Egypt announced a three-day mourning for the victims of the Libyan flood disaster and the victims of Moroccan earthquake that claimed the lives of more than 2,000 people.

A 6.8-magnitude quake struck in Morocco’s High Atlas Mountain range shortly after 11 p.m. local time at a relatively shallow depth of 18.5 kilometers (11.4 miles) on September 8, USGS said, with the epicenter located about 72 kilometers (44.7 miles) southwest of Marrakech, a city of some 840,000 people and a popular tourist destination, according to CNN. The quake claimed lives of more than 2,900 people in Morocco so far.