The Director of the Roads and Bridges Authority in the city of Sabha, Abdullah Ali, has urged state authorities to take swift action to hold off the sand drifting from the "Zulaf" desert region, which is hindering traffic and blocking roads in the area.

Stirring winds has carried sand from the "Zulaf" sand zone south of Barak al-Shati area and blocked the main road between Sabha and the Barak al-Shati.

The director of the Roads Authority warned that the situation is dangerous and urged motorists to be cautious when driving on these routes.

A local contracting company has suspended its work to shift the sand and open the road due to the high cost of fuel consumed by the machinery used for this job while receiving no support from the state authorities.

The company warned that the situation is getting worse due to the seasonal winds and the continuing traffic movement.

In this context, environmentalists in Libya have raised the alarm about the increasing phenomenon of axing desert trees that provide natural windbreaks in the desert and semi-desert regions.

Cutting such trees contributes to the accumulation of wind-blown sands in the desert roads, which could cause fatal motor traffic accidents.