Libyan politicians have wrapped up [10] nearly three weeks [11] 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 [12] what it says are migrant traffickers bringing people in from Tunisia. In eastern Libya, authorities have reportedly [13] rounded up [14] between 4,000 and 6,000 [15] 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 [15] and international [21] political calculations by Gen. Khalifa Haftar, leader of the Libyan National Army that controls much of eastern Libya.
Giorgia Meloni—Italy's far-right [16] prime minister—visited Haftar [17] last month to talk migration control amidst an increase [18] in people crossing the central Mediterranean. Meanwhile, Médecins Sans Frontières Sea [22] said that on June 8 it witnessed the EU-backed Libyan Coast Guard [23] intercept a boat carrying around 50 people in international waters, forcibly returning those on board to Libya. Nearly 7,000 [24] people have been intercepted by the Libyan Coast Guard and returned to a cycle of detention [25] and abuse [26] in the country so far this year.
Frm The New Humanitarian [27], June 9
Note: The Government of National Unity (GNU [28]) 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 controling the west and Khalifa Haftar [29]'s forces controling the east. The Libyan Coast Guard, now implicated in crimes against humanity [30], is under command of the GNU.
