Libya's Eastern Based Government Warns Italy Over Ships

Italy has despatched naval patrol boat,, Nave Comandante Borsini, to Libya in order to help the country’s coast guard curb the flow of migrants.

The Italian parliament gave the go-ahead for a naval mission, saying it had been requested by Libya’s U.N.-backed government.

But the move triggered angry statements from factions in eastern Libya that oppose the Tripoli based government.

Abdallah Bilhaq, a spokesman for the Libyan House of Representatives in Tobruk, said Italy wanted to “export the illegal immigration crisis from its territory to Libya’s”, adding that the return of tens of thousands of migrants would have a “dangerous impact” on Libya’s security, economy and society.

The parliament also criticised Prime Minister Fayez Serraj for striking the deal with the Italians.

Serraj’s government has denied that, although Italian Premier Paolo Gentiloni said they requested help from Italy’s navy.

The parliament in Tobruk said having a foreign Navy's vessels patrolling Libyan waters would be a “violation to the sovereignty of Libya.”

After a surge in migrant arrivals from Libya at the start of the year, the number of newcomers to Italy has slowed

However, rights groups have warned that those sent back to Libya face abuse at the hands of traffickers.

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the Italian parliament approved legislation allowing Italian military vessels to patrol Libyan waters in order to stem the flow of migrants entering Italy. This is the latest in a series of initiatives and proposals by the Italian government to block the Mediterranean migrant route, including the recent introduction of a code of conduct curtailing the flexibility of aid groups and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to operate rescue vessels in the Mediterranean. In response to the latest measure to deploy the Italian navy, Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar of the Libyan National Army (LNA) – a militia associated with the Tobruk-based government in eastern Libya – warned that any non-commercial vessel entering Libyan waters without prior authorisation would be attacked.

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