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Ross Kemp has visited Libya for his new documentary

Actor Ross Kemp has said the UK has a responsibility to help with the migrant crisis in Libya.

The soap star-turned-film maker visited the country for his latest documentary, which follows the journey migrants make through the Sahara desert as part of efforts to reach Europe.

In an article for the Radio Times, the former EastEnders star called on Europe and Britain to do more "given our role in the country's decline into chaos".

Kemp said his visit left him without much "hope," adding there was little NGO (non-governmental organisation) or aid presence.

"The country is divided with three competing governments and even they can't control the hundreds of armed militias that have sprung up since the end of Gaddafi's dictatorship," he said.

"In this chaos, migrants are not only lacking in any legal or practical protection but they also represent a huge source of income to unscrupulous smuggling gangs."

He describes the situation as a " kind of modern-day slave trade".

"Women are often trafficked into prostitution. The smugglers tell them they are going to Italy before selling them to brothel owners where they are subjected to indefinite rape and assault, with little chance of escape."

Kemp, who was filming for the Sky series Ross Kemp: Extreme World, added: " It seems nobody wants them. Not their own countries, Libya or Europe. European leaders, under pressure to reduce the number of people entering their countries as migrants, have signed a new deal with Libya, but far from helping people to escape, the EU deal is aimed at keeping them there.

"Can we really consider this an acceptable solution to such a horrific situation?"

:: This week's Radio Times is on sale today.

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UK has a responsibility to help migrant crisis in Libya says Ross Kemp - Irvine Times

The parliamentary select committee investigating alleged mismanagement at Uganda Telecom will soon travel to Libya in line with the inquiry.

The MPs will interface with some of the companys board members who live in Libya and also perform other duties connected to the probe.The MPs will also travel to Dubai on a similar mission.

LAP-Green, a subsidiary of Libyan Post, Telecommunication and Information Technology Holding Company holds 69% majority shareholding in UTL while the Ugandan Government holds a minority 31%.

Uganda Telecom has for long been in a financial crisis and there are claims that the Libyans are seeking to sell its shares to a US Based Investor.

Last week, the committee toured the UTL assets in Mukono and Tororo districts and found that some of the company land had been sold off illegally.

The MPs are also expected to meet the Prime Minister, the Managing Director of National Social Security Fund, which UTL owes billions of shillings in unremitted employee benefits, the line ministries and also interface with those who bought or leased UTL land.

Committee chairman, Chua West MP Okin Ojara also told NTV that the MPs will also seek to understand why the number of UTL subscribers has dropped significantly over the years.

Late last year, senior UTL executives were barred from leaving the country as the investigations began. The probe committee recently found that UTL is indebted to the tune of 700 billion shillings.

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UTL probe committee to travel to Libya and Dubai - NTV Uganda

Mayors from Libyas desert south to its northern shores fear a deal between Tripoli and Rome to fund migrant holding centers in this north African country will simply shift Europes migration crisis onto Libyan soil.

The Mediterranean Sea between Libya and Italy has become the main crossing point for asylum seekers and economic migrants seeking a better life in Europe. Last year, Italy recorded its record number of arrivals and many migrants drowned at sea.

The deal foresees European Union money for holding centers in towns and cities along the main human trafficking routes crisis-crossing Libya, as well as training and equipment to fight the smugglers.

Reuters contacted Libyan mayors to hear their reactions to the deal, and they were not positive.

Our priority is to support our own sons instead of allowing for illegal migrants in centers, said Hamed Al-Khyali, mayor of the southern city of Sabha, a migrant smuggling hub.

If the Europeans want to allow them to stay, they can have them in their own lands, which are larger, but not in Libya, because we have our own problems to take care of.

Libya descended into chaos after the 2011 toppling of long-time leader Muammar Gaddafi, enabling smuggling gangs to develop entrenched networks.

Smugglers typically demand thousands of dollars from migrants for a risky journey across the desert before cramming them onto ill-equipped boats for a perilous crossing of the Mediterranean. An estimated 4,500 migrants drowned in 2016.

The agreement will depend heavily on the cooperation of local authorities along the smuggling routes because the U.N.-backed government in Tripoli exerts little effective control over much of the country.

Several mayors said they were not notified of the accord before it was struck.

Reuters

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Libya Mayors Express Concern Over Europe's Migration Crisis - CHANNELS TELEVISION

Libya Herald

Transparency, not nationality is the problem with UN appointments, say women in the Arab region Libya Herald A group of ten Arab women NGOs, including from Libya, have released a statement condemning the United States' rejection of the appointment of Salam Fayyad as the new United Nations Security Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) head based on his nationality.

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Transparency, not nationality is the problem with UN appointments, say women in the Arab region - Libya Herald

Airstrikes carried out by the Libyan National Army (LNA) on the Jufra airbase in the centre of the country have killed two people and wounded another 13.

The Benghazi Defence Brigades (BDB) were the targets of the strikes, although there were other militias in the area, including those from Misrata situated on the Mediterranean coast, the Libya Herald reported on Friday.

Before the attack, local residents reported that they heard the sound of planes overhead.

The attacking aircraft took off from the Al Khadim base, in Al Marj in northeastern Libya, used in recent weeks by fighter jets from the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

The UAE maintains a military base that supports the operations of Khalifa Haftar in eastern Libya.

Haftars Emirati allies want to maintain a presence on Libyan territory in order to act in support of his military operations, and to protect his main base in AL Marj.

Haftar, a former loyalist of the late Muammar Gadaffi, has gained popularity in the eastern city of Benghazi for fighting Islamic militants.

Violence also continues to plague in the Abu Saleem and Salahadeen neighbourhoods of the capital Tripoli.

Clashes erupted several days ago between the Abu Saleem Central Security Force belonging to Abdul Ghani Al Kikli and gunmen loyal to the Salah Al Burki militia, most of them from Misrata.

During the fighting tanks and heavy mortar were used forcing residents to stay indoors. There were also reports of shooting in Ain Zara and Tajoura.

Meanwhile, the UN Special envoy to Libya, Martin Kobler, is to be replaced by former Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad. The decision to replace Kobler was made by the new UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

So far there has been no official confirmation, although a leaked letter from Guterres to the UN Security Council on Wednesday announcing the appointment had been circulating on social media. In it Guterres thanks Kobler for his service.

Responding to the move the former Libyan representative to the UN Ibrahim Dabbashi criticised the UN for failing to consult Libyan authorities before making the decision.

During his last days as the UNs Libyan envoy Kobler has slammed a European Union (EU) proposal on how to deal with the thousands of desperate African refugees who attempt the perilous sea journey to Europe, using Libya as the point of departure.

Earlier in the week criticised a European Union (EU) plan to send migrants back to Libya and suggested such a decision would be a violation of international standards and the Geneva Convention.

You cant send them (migrants) back to camps where they will go hungry, be tortured and raped, he said.

In his final report to the Council Kobler said: The citizens of Libya deserve security and an end to the rampant crime and lawlessness.

Kobler was a personal appointment by former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

The new special envoy, US-educated Salam Fayyad, was Palestinian finance minister from 2002 to 2005 and Palestinian prime minister from 2007 to 2013.

His background is in finance, having previously worked for both the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, and is regarded as having been a successful finance minister.

Seen as both a conciliator and a pragmatist, Salam Fayyad will, however, have his work cut out for him in trying to implement a Libyan Political Agreement that is widely seen as broken and unimplementable, the Herald reported.

African News Agency (ANA)

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Libya airstrikes on airbase kill two, injure 13 | The Citizen - Citizen