Ahmad 
A report by French state radio indicated that Libya is playing a “double game” with the European Union regarding the issue of illegal immigration.
The report explained that while Libya complains of the presence of a large number of migrants on its territory, at the same time it requests more funding from the European Union to retain these migrants.
The report noted recent statements by the Minister of the Interior of the outgoing National Unity Government, Imad Trabelsi, in which he said that Libya, with a population of seven million people, has 2.5 million migrants, of whom 70-80% are in an “irregular situation.”
François Gemin, a researcher specializing in migration affairs, believes that the European Union, which is strongly focused on fighting convoys of irregular migrants through Libya and Tunisia, will take more measures to stop the flow of migrants.
The researcher expects that Libya will seek to obtain more funding from the European Union to retain migrants, considering that the double game is represented by Libya complaining about the presence of a large number of migrants, while requesting money from the European Union.
The report stated that smugglers and human traffickers have exploited the state of instability in Libya since 2011 to expand their criminal activities, which led to an increase in the number of migrants trying to reach Europe. This migration was under control during the era of the previous regime of Muammar Gaddafi, but the situation changed after that.
Since the agreements concluded with the European Union to stop the flow of migrants from the Libyan coast, the Libyan Coast Guard has been intercepting migrants at sea since 2017, and they are placed in detention camps where they are subjected to violations, which was denounced by international non-governmental organizations concerned with human rights.
Thousands of people, especially from sub-Saharan Africa, find themselves stranded in Libya, while thousands more die every year during their attempts to cross the Mediterranean Sea, as United Nations reports confirm the continued mistreatment of migrants in Libya, which suffers from insecurity and chaos.
However, the European Union has concluded agreements with Libya to intercept these migrants, dismaying NGOs that condemn “European hypocrisy.”
On July 10, Al-Trabelsi spoke about the repercussions of irregular migration on Libya during a preparatory event for the International Forum on Migration in the Mediterranean scheduled to be held in Tripoli.
Al-Trabelsi stressed that the attempt to permanently resettle migrants in Libya is unacceptable, and that Tripoli is seeking to find solutions to regulate their presence on its territory.
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