The authorities in East Liby Persona non grata explained. The delegation was refused access on Tuesday on arrival at the airport in Benghazi, reports a journalist from Euronews, who shares a statement from the government of East Libya on X.
According to the Reuters news agency, the EU delegation would have a meeting with the regime of the Libyan General Khalifa Haftar in the eastern part of Libya, a country that de facto has two governments. Earlier in the day, the delegation in the capital Tripoli spoke with the internationally recognized government of Abdul Hamid Dbeibah.
Upon arrival in Benghazi, the discussions were canceled by the authorities for unclear reasons and the delegation had to leave immediately. The East Libyan government accuses the delegation of a “flagrant violation of diplomatic standards” and not respecting the “Libyan national sovereignty”, without going further into details.
‘Incident’
News site Polrico writes on the basis of an anonymous source that there was a “diplomatic incident”. The delegation is said to have refused to meet officials of the parallel government of Prime Minister Osama Hammad that he supported by him. The EU has not yet commented on the issue.
The visit of the EU delegation was an attempt to move the Libyan authorities to curb the migration flow. Libya is an important starting point for migrants who want to go to Europe, because it is about 300 kilometers from Italy. For some time the number of boat migrants who come to Europe from Libya is increasing.
The deals that conclude EU countries with Libya to limit migration are controversial due to the miserable conditions for migrants in Libya. By sending refugees back to a country where they may be prosecuted, Europe violates the international legal principle according to human rights organizations.
Read also
“We are from Europe,” says the crew of the lifeboat. Under the migrants, shouts break out