CounterVortex

Libyan politicians have wrapped up nearly three weeks of talks in Morocco meant to set a framework for the country’s long-delayed elections. Back at home, the country’s rival sides were cracking down hard on migrants and refugees. The Tripoli-based Government of National Unity has been using armed drones to target what it says are migrant traffickers bringing people in from Tunisia. In eastern Libya, authorities have reportedly rounded up between 4,000 and 6,000 Egyptian migrants, deporting some to Egypt and holding others in a customs hangar near the border. Some suspect that this has been driven by domestic and international political calculations by Gen. Khalifa Haftar, leader of the Libyan National Army that controls much of eastern Libya.

Giorgia Meloni—Italy’s far-right prime minister—visited Haftar last month to talk migration control amidst an increase in people crossing the central Mediterranean. Meanwhile, Médecins Sans Frontières Sea said that on June 8 it witnessed the EU-backed Libyan Coast Guard intercept a boat carrying around 50 people in international waters, forcibly returning those on board to Libya. Nearly 7,000 people have been intercepted by the Libyan Coast Guard and returned to a cycle of detention and abuse in the country so far this year.

Frm The New Humanitarian, June 9

Note: The Government of National Unity (GNU) is a new effort to unite the former Government of National Accord (GNA) and its rivals. However, the country remains effectively divided, with the Tripoli-based GNU controlling the west and Khalifa Haftar‘s forces controlling the east. The Libyan Coast Guard, now implicated in crimes against humanity, is under command of the GNU.

Photo of migrant camp near Tunisian border with Libya: UK Department for International Development via Jurist