Fear of Disease in Tripoli

As fighting remained at a lull Saturday in Libya, the bodies of the dead in Tripoli continue to pile up in the city. Bodies of fighters from both sides, civilians, and some people who have been executed have been left in the streets—and the corpses are decomposing in the heat and infested with maggots. The state of the bodies combined with the shortages of water and medicine create a high risk of disease in the city. A spokesman for the Tripoli council says, “We have started immediate action on moving these dead people. There are obviously medical issues involved. There are other shortages and we do not want illnesses to start.”