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Rome - European Union officials on Thursday reaffirmed the need to tackle Europe's migrant crisis in Libya and surrounding countries, amid continued resistance in Europe to welcome refugees.

Italy announced some $34m in new investments aimed at preventing migrants from ever reaching or leaving Libya's lawless shores where smugglers operate.

And EU interior ministers warned they might sanction migrants' home countries with visa restrictions if they refuse to take their people back when their European asylum bids fail.

Europe's migration crisis was on the agenda at two meetings on Thursday: an informal EU-wide interior ministers meeting in Tallinn, Estonia, and a meeting in Rome of foreign ministers from Libya, surrounding African countries and selected European partners.

Amid mounting anti-immigrant sentiment across Europe, Italy has increased its complaints that it can no longer shoulder the burden of the migrant crisis alone.

Faced with national elections later this year or next, the Italian government has recently threatened to close its ports to non-Italian flagged rescue ships in hopes of forcing other European countries to take migrants in.

In Rome, Foreign Minister Angelino Alfano said Italy was pledging 10 million euros to help Libya's southern neighbors - Niger, Chad and Sudan - better control their borders so migrants can't reach Libya.

Another 18 million euros is slated for the voluntary repatriations of migrants who reach Libya and decide not to continue their journeys north.

"In order to lower the numbers leaving Libya, we have to lower the numbers entering," Alfano told a press conference.

In Tallinn, the interior ministers called for aid groups conducting rescue operations in the Mediterranean to follow a code of conduct, after prosecutors in Italy have accused some of complicity with Libyan-based smugglers.

The ministers also vowed to crack down on countries that refuse to take their nationals home when their asylum bids fail in Europe, including imposing limits to visa programs.

And they promised to "enhance the capacity of the Libyan coast guard," to better patrol its coasts and turn back migrant boats, despite renewed criticism from Amnesty International that such a policy is "reckless" given Libya's lawlessness.

On the eve of the meeting, the human rights group said the turnback policy risked victimizing desperate migrants even more since they risk grave human rights abuses once returned to Libya and trapped there.

More than 2 000 migrants to Europe have died at sea so far this year while over 73 380 have reached Italy. By year's end, the number of arrivals is expected to match or exceed the 181 400 who made it in 2016, which was more than in the two previous years, the report said.

Amnesty said it was "deeply problematic" to unconditionally fund and train Libya, where human rights are lacking and the coast guard has been known for violence and even smuggling.

The group cited an August incident off Libya's coast in which attackers shot at a Doctors Without Borders rescue boat. A UN panel of experts on Libya later confirmed that two officers from a coast guard faction were involved.

In May, the Libyan coast guard intervened in a search-and-rescue operation another non-governmental organization was performing. The coast guard officers threatened migrants with weapons, took command of their wooden boat and took it back to Libya, Amnesty reported.

Amnesty is not alone in its concern.

The search-and-rescue director for Save the Children, Rob MacGillivray, said in a statement that rescued migrants have recounted horrors from Libya, including claims of sexual assaults, sales to others for work and whippings and electrical shocks in detention centres.

"Simply pushing desperate people back to Libya, which many describe as hell, is not a solution," MacGillivray said.

EU Migration Commissioner Dimitri Avramopoulos conceded at a recent news conference in Paris that the EU is drawing on a country in "very precarious conditions."

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EU leaders reaffirm Libya migrant policy despite criticism - News24

Wed, Jul 5, 2017, 19:19 Updated: Wed, Jul 5, 2017, 19:31

European leaders must open safe and legal routes for refugees and migrants crossing the Mediterranean rather than ignoring abuse perpetuated by Libyan forces, an Irish doctor has warned.

European Union-led attempts to stop refugees crossing the Mediterranean through collaboration with Libyan authorities would only fuel the smuggling industry, said Dr Conor Kenny.

The Sligo-born doctor has spent three months this year working on board the Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) search and rescue vessel MV Aquarius, in the Mediterranean.

The vast majority of injuries suffered by migrants that he has treated while on board the rescue ship were the result of abuse and torture in Libyan detention centres, he declared.

I havent been to Libya but these peoples stories are corroborated in rescue upon rescue. Its clear these abuses are happening. Many are beaten in detention centres and some are shot. They say they would rather die at sea than go back to Libya.

When I see dead bodies floating on a Wednesday afternoon in the calm Mediterranean sea, I just think we need a proper approach to save these lives. The work of NGOs in the Mediterranean is important but we are not the solution to this problem.

Dr Kenny was working as a doctor in Kings College Hospital before he began his three-month placement on board the MSF rescue vessel in February 2017. Id seen the rubber boats in the news but when you actually see it in person, you cannot describe how vulnerable these people are. Ill never forget the smell of fuel from the boats and how under-nourished the people looked.

Once particular rescue from late March remains etched in Dr Kennys mind. The Aquarius, which was floating in international waters about 12 nautical miles from the Libyan coast, spotted a boat full of people at about midnight. By 2.30am, three more boats had arrived each carrying about 120 people. A woman in her 20s who had suffered a heart attack was brought on board the MSF ship.

We tried to resuscitate her. The skin on the right side of her face had dissolved in the fuel and she was burned down the right side of her body. She had drowned in the gasoline in her rubber boat. She did not drown at sea.

Working with a small team of two nurses and one midwife, Dr Kenny had to prioritise which patients required emergency treatment. The majority of people are pale or exhausted. Many collapse due to hypothermia, lack of food or just sheer exhaustion after the incredible journey they have undertaken.

Once people have settled on the boat a sense of relief takes over. There are different cultures mixing and often they create music, song or dance. Its a beautiful thing to see. But when we get to port the mood changes again. People are scared. They dont know whats ahead of them.

Amnesty International also criticised European leaders this week for shamelessly prioritising reckless deals with Libya and ceding the lions share of responsibility for search and rescue to NGOs.

Interceptions by the Libyan coastguard often put refugees and migrants at even greater risk with reports that the coastguard was directly involved in the sinking of migrant boats using firearms, warned Amnestys report into the failure of European policies in the Mediterranean. It said refugees trapped in Libya were vulnerable to abuses including killings, torture, rape, kidnappings, forced labour and detention in cruel, inhuman and degrading conditions.

Speaking ahead of Thursdays meeting of EU ministers in Tallinn, Estonia on measures to stem migration to Europe, Amnesty director John Dalhuisen warned that 2017 was on track to become the deadliest year for the deadliest migration route in the world.

According to the latest data from the UN Refugee Agency, 98,185 people have arrived in Europe via the Mediterranean so far this year. Some 2,257 people have died or gone missing during the crossing since the start of 2017. A total of 362,753 people arrived in Europe by sea in 2016.

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EU leaders turning blind eye to 'torture' of migrants in Libya - Irish Times

BBC News

Libya eastern commander Haftar declares Benghazi 'liberated' BBC News The head of the self-styled Libyan National Army (LNA) has said his forces "liberated" the eastern Benghazi city after years of fighting with Islamists. Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar said the city now enters a new era of "security, peace and ... Benghazi has been 'liberated' from Islamist militants and rebels, say Libyan forcesThe Independent Libya's eastern commander declares victory in battle for BenghaziReuters The Birth of a New Tyrant in LibyaThe Libya Observer RTE.ie -ABC News all 79 news articles »

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Libya eastern commander Haftar declares Benghazi 'liberated' - BBC News

15:35 Thursday 06 July 2017

THE Manchester suicide bomber, Salman Abedi, did not act alone, police suspect, and detectives are waiting to speak to his brother in Libya.

Detective Chief Superintendent Russ Jackson, head of the North West Counter Terrorism Unit, said officers were engaged with the authorities in the war-torn country, where Salmans brother, Hashem, is currently being held.

Mr Jackson also said that, while detectives did not now think Abedi was part of a large network, they did suspect the involvement of others in the attack, which had been planned for months. He said he did not rule out further arrests.

Abedi killed 22 people when he detonated his bomb in the foyer of Manchester Arena at the end of a concert by the US star Ariane Grande on May 22.

Mr Jackson said: We do believe that there are other people potentially involved in this. This is a live criminal investigation where central to it are 22 murdered people, with grieving families.

He refused to say whether British police had travelled to Libya.

Hashem, was arrested in Libya shortly after the explosion, along with his father, Ramadan. The family is originally from Libya, but fled during Colonel Muammar Gaddafis dictatorship, with the father returning to fight with opposition forces when the uprising began in 2011.

Abedis older brother, Ismail, was among more than a dozen people held and questioned by police in the UK before being released without charge.

Mr Jackson said Salman Abedi travelled to Libya a number of times and they were investigating how he obtained the skills to make a bomb.

He said no video or note had been found from Abedi to explain his motivation.

Meanwhile, Ms Grande has paid tribute to Saffie Roussos, the youngest victim of the bombing, who would have turned nine on Tuesday. Following a concert in Buenos Aires on Wednesday, she tweeted: Saffie, were (thinking) of you baby, alongside a birthday cake emoji.

Read more here:
Police seek talks with bomber's brother in Libya - Yorkshire Post

That administration, led by Prime Minister Fayez Serraj, has struggled to unite Libya, or even achieve control over Tripoli, since it was formed last year. It is opposed by another government, led by Islamists and other militia groups, that also claims authority over the divided Libyan capital.

Local media reported that a family of six was killed in the latest factional fighting near Tripolis only functioning airport this week.

General Hifter, at least, can claim unrivaled control over Benghazi, the main city in eastern Libya, where four Americans, including Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens, were killed by a mob in 2012. General Hifter has been battling Islamist militants, including the Islamic State, for control of Benghazi since 2014, and he now appears to have won.

Still, General Hifters forces have been accused of human rights abuses, and some critics accuse him of seeking to emulate the strongman rule of Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi, who was ousted and killed in a bloody uprising in 2011.

General Hifter has made little secret of his ambition to become a national leader in Libya. In a televised address about two weeks ago, he told tribal leaders that if Libyas conflict was not peacefully resolved by December, his forces would take action.

On Thursday, Libyans who oppose General Hifter seized on images from his latest address, showing him in a sparkling white uniform adorned with medals, and which bore a strong resemblance to images of Colonel Qaddafi while in power.

How can you say liberated when it fell into the hands of a new Qaddafi called Hifter? Aber Sabeel, a Twitter user, wrote about the events in Benghazi.

But General Hifter appears to enjoy broad support in the eastern part of the country, where after six years of turmoil Libyans crave stability. Last year his forces seized control of several of Libyas major oil terminals. Oil is the countrys primary source of wealth, and since the seizures, production has increased to almost one million barrels a day.

Nour Youssef reported from Cairo, and Declan Walsh from Doha, Qatar.

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A Libyan Commander Says His Forces Have Taken Benghazi - New York Times