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More than 100 migrants freed in Libya after being held captive by gang, officials say
More than 100 migrants freed in Libya after being held captive by gang, officials say

Arab News

time2 days ago

  • Politics
  • Arab News

More than 100 migrants freed in Libya after being held captive by gang, officials say

BENGHAZI: More than 100 migrants, including five women, have been freed from captivity after being held for ransom by a gang in eastern Libya, the country's attorney general said on Monday. 'A criminal group involved in organizing the smuggling of migrants, depriving them of their freedom, trafficking them, and torturing them to force their families to pay ransoms for their release,' a statement from the attorney general said. Libya has become a transit route for migrants fleeing conflict and poverty to Europe via the dangerous route across the desert and over the Mediterranean following the toppling of Muammar Qaddafi in a NATO-backed uprising in 2011. Many migrants desperate to make the crossing have fallen into the hands of traffickers. The freed migrants had been held in Ajdabiya, some 160 km (100 miles) from Libya's second city Benghazi. Five suspected traffickers from Libya, Sudan and Egypt, have been arrested, officials said. The attorney general and Ajdabiya security directorate posted pictures of the migrants on their Facebook pages which they said had been retrieved from the suspects' mobile phones. They showed migrants with hands and legs cuffed with signs that they had been beaten. In February, at least 28 bodies were recovered from a mass grave in the desert north of Kufra city. Officials said a gang had subjected the migrants to torture and inhumane treatment. That followed another 19 bodies being found in a mass grave in the Jikharra area, also in southeastern Libya, a security directorate said, blaming a known smuggling network. As of December 2024, around 825,000 migrants from 47 countries were recorded in Libya, according to UN data released in May. Last week, the EU migration commissioner and ministers from Italy, Malta and Greece met with the internationally recognized prime minister of the national unity government, Abdulhamid Dbeibah, and discussed the migration crisis.

Greek lawmakers to vote on North Africa asylum ban as rights groups cry foul
Greek lawmakers to vote on North Africa asylum ban as rights groups cry foul

Reuters

time7 days ago

  • Politics
  • Reuters

Greek lawmakers to vote on North Africa asylum ban as rights groups cry foul

AGYIA, Crete, July 10 (Reuters) - Greek lawmakers were set to vote on legislation on Thursday that would temporarily halt the processing of asylum applications of people coming from North Africa, a move rights groups have called illegal. The vote comes amid a surge in migrant arrivals to the island of Crete and as talks with divided Libya's Benghazi-based eastern government to help stem the flow were cancelled acrimoniously this week. Greece, one of the main gateways into the European Union for refugees and migrants from the Middle East, Asia and Africa, has taken an increasingly tough stance on migration since Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis' centre-right party came to power in 2019, building a fence at its northern land borders and boosting sea patrols in the east. Sea arrivals of migrants travelling from northeastern Libya to its southern islands of Crete and Gavdos, the closest European territory to North Africa, have surged this year. Dozens of migrants, including children, sat on mattresses in a temporary reception centre in Agyia, near the city of Chania, on Thursday. There were among hundreds rescued by the Greek coastguard in the Libyan Sea off Crete in recent days. "We are experiencing what I would call the worst crisis of the past two years, with hundreds of migrants disembarking on the southern coast of the island," said Vasilis Katsikandarakis, head of the coastguard staff in western Crete. "All the burden has fallen onto the coastguard, who don't have the necessary equipment and personnel to deal with such flows." In response to the spike, Mitsotakis' government proposed legislation on Wednesday stipulating that migrants crossing illegally to Greece from North Africa by sea would not be able to file for an asylum for three months. A vote on the law, which would also allow authorities to quickly deport those migrants without any prior identification process, was expected later on Thursday or early on Friday. Human rights groups said the asylum ban would violate international and European law, and called on the Greek government to recall it. "Seeking refuge is a human right; preventing people from doing so is both illegal and inhumane," the International Rescue Committee (IRC) said in a statement. The government who controls 155 lawmakers in the 300-seated parliament said on Wednesday the ban was "an emergency response to an emergency situation". Greek government spokesman Pavlos Marinakis said on Thursday the move was a fair one, aimed to make Greece less attractive to illegal migrants. "No-one is less humanitarian than anyone else in this country and in Europe," he said. Greece has long been accused by aid groups of forcibly ejecting migrants at its sea and land borders, also known as "pushbacks," an illegal practice. A Greek naval court has charged 17 coastguard officers over one of the Mediterranean's worst shipwrecks two years ago, in which hundreds of people are believed to have drowned.

UN mission in Libya urges immediate de-escalation in Tripoli
UN mission in Libya urges immediate de-escalation in Tripoli

Arab News

time09-07-2025

  • Politics
  • Arab News

UN mission in Libya urges immediate de-escalation in Tripoli

TRIPOLI: The UN Mission in Libya urged on Wednesday all Libyan parties to avoid actions or political rhetoric that could trigger escalation or renewed clashes in Tripoli, following reports of continued military buildup in and around the city. Libyan Prime Minister Abdulhamid Al-Dbeibah ordered in May the dismantling of what he called irregular armed groups, which was followed by Tripoli's fiercest clashes in years between two armed groups that killed at least eight civilians. 'The Mission continues its efforts to help de-escalate the situation and calls on all parties to engage in good faith toward this end ... Forces recently deployed in Tripoli must withdraw without delay,' the UN Mission said on social media. A Tripoli-based Government of National Unity under Al-Dbeibah was installed through a UN-backed process in 2021 but the Benghazi-based House of Representatives no longer recognizes its legitimacy. Libya has had little stability since a 2011 NATO-backed uprising ousted longtime autocrat Muammar Qaddafi. The country split in 2014 between rival eastern and western factions, though an outbreak of major warfare paused with a truce in 2020. While eastern Libya has been dominated for a decade by commander Khalifa Haftar and his Libyan National Army, control in Tripoli and western Libya has been splintered among numerous armed factions.

EU migration commissioner denied entry to Libya over ‘protocol issue'
EU migration commissioner denied entry to Libya over ‘protocol issue'

Al Arabiya

time09-07-2025

  • Politics
  • Al Arabiya

EU migration commissioner denied entry to Libya over ‘protocol issue'

The European Union's migration commissioner was barred from entering eastern Libya because of a 'protocol issue', an EU spokesperson said on Wednesday. In addition to EU Internal Affairs and Migration Commissioner Magnus Brunner, ministers from Italy, Malta, and Greece were also denied entry. 'What happened in Benghazi was there was a protocol issue. This is why it was not possible to carry out the planned meetings,' EU spokesperson Markus Lammert told the EU's daily press briefing. 'The EU will maintain open channels of communication and we will continue working in a Team Europe approach with all actors involved.' The delegation had arrived at Benghazi airport to attend a meeting with the parallel government of Osama Hamad, allied to military commander Khalifa Haftar who controls the east and large areas of southern Libya, shortly after meeting the internationally recognized government that controls the west of Libya. The EU mission in the country centered around 'the recent increase of irregular arrivals from Libya,' Lammert said. On Monday, the Hamad government warned that all foreign visitors and diplomats must get prior approval before entering or travelling within Libya. Since the fall of Muammar Gaddafi in a NATO-backed uprising in 2011, Libya has been on a route for migrants heading to Europe. Factional conflict has divided the country since 2014.

EU delegation expelled from eastern Libya
EU delegation expelled from eastern Libya

Russia Today

time09-07-2025

  • Politics
  • Russia Today

EU delegation expelled from eastern Libya

Libya's eastern government has barred the European Union migration commissioner and ministers from Italy, Malta, and Greece from entering the region, accusing them of violating the North African nation's sovereignty. The delegation had been scheduled to meet with Prime Minister Osama Hammad's Government of National Stability (GNS) in Benghazi, following earlier talks with the rival, internationally recognized Government of National Unity (GNU) in the national capital, Tripoli. However, upon arrival at Benina Airport in Benghazi on Tuesday, the visit of the EU officials, 'along with their accompanying delegation, was rescinded,' Hammad said in a statement on Facebook. He added that the team had failed to 'adhere to the stipulated procedures governing the entry, movement, and residency of foreign diplomatic personnel' in breach of Libyan laws. The group included EU Internal Affairs and Migration Commissioner Magnus Brunner, Greek Minister for Migration and Asylum Thanos Plevris, Italian Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi, and Maltese Minister for Home Affairs Byron Camilleri. 'They were duly informed of the imperative to depart Libyan territory forthwith and were declared persona non grata,' he stated. The oil-rich nation has remained conflict-torn and split between two competing administrations since a NATO-backed uprising toppled longtime leader Muammar Gaddafi more than a decade ago. Libya became a major transit hub for human trafficking and migration to Europe via the Mediterranean after the assassination of Gaddafi in 2011. Earlier on Tuesday, the EU team discussed efforts to combat illegal migration and human smuggling with Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah of the Tripoli-based government. During the meeting, Dbeibah warned that Libya is locked in a battle against criminal gangs and armed groups exploiting irregular migration, a crisis he said requires urgent global cooperation. The prime minister said he had directed the Interior Ministry to develop a national plan to address migration, 'based on practical cooperation with partners and reflecting a clear political will to build sustainable solutions.' He also announced plans to sign a formal agreement with the EU to institutionalize cooperation and 'effectively ensure burden-sharing' and stability in Libya and the region.

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