[MAGHAREBIA] The number of deaths from alcohol poisoning has reached 79 in Tripoli, Health Minister Nouri Daghman said on Thursday (March 14th).About 800 have been sickened from drinking the homemade methanol-tainted brew since March 7th. The number is steadily increasing, straining Tripoli's health districts, the minister said.
Six people were arrested in the incident and two are on the run, Tripoli's security chief said.
"They were banned from travelling via Libya's crossings," Col. Mahmoud al-Sharif said on Tuesday. He noted that he had a list of 24 people with criminal records who deal in selling alcohol.
The consumption and sale of alcohol is banned in Libya. It is brewed in homes or farms away from police eyes and is usually poorly made, without proper equipment.
Al-Sharif said that alcohol dens, especially local manufacturing, had recently been discovered by police and security units in various areas.
"Foreign workers who suffer from some diseases are behind that, but this is done with the co-operation of some Libyans," al-Sharif said.
The alcohol poisoning disaster threw into sharp relief the lack of medical services in Libya and the government's capacity to react to emergency situations.