While she was about to enter the city of Syrte, the Soumoud caravan, part of Tunis to Gaza, was stopped by the Eastern Libyan forces. The organizers denounce an unexpected obstacle to this humanitarian mission, launched in solidarity with the Gazaouis.
The coordination of the joint action for Palestine announced on Thursday evening that the Soumoud caravan was blocked by the security forces and the army under the Libyan authorities, when it arrived around the city of Syrte.
According to these security forces, the members of the caravan must wait until receipt of instructions emanating from the Benghazi authorities, as indicated by a press release published by the coordination on its official Facebook page.
Faced with what it describes as “unexpected reaction”, coordination specifies that caravan officials have decided not to turn around. They rose to the side of the road and declare themselves ready to spend the night there if necessary.
In the same press release, the caravan urged Benghazi authorities to make their support for this initiative, recalling the favorable remarks of the Libyan Foreign Ministry published on Wednesday. The latter had expressed his confidence in the unity of the Libyan people, believing that popular support for the caravan transcends the cleavages between the east and the west of the country.
Coordination has appealed to the authorities concerned to facilitate the mission of the caravan, which claims to have the sole humanitarian objective of “breaking the blockade imposed on Gaza and contributing to ending the famine and the current genocide in the Palestinian enclave”.
She also wanted to reassure the families of the participants: all the members of the caravan are healthy and grouped a few kilometers from Syrte. Communication difficulties are due to the lack of telephone coverage in the area.
As a reminder, the Soumoud caravan left Tunis on June 9 in the direction of Gaza, via Libya and Egypt. It brings together activists from several Maghreb countries, carrying a message of solidarity with the Gazaouis and humanitarian aid intended for the population of the enclave, always subject to a severe blockade for more than a year and a half.
