Ahmad 
The Minister of the Interior of the Interim Government of National Unity, Imad Trabelsi, called on the international community to support Libya’s efforts in combating the phenomenon of illegal immigration, which has negatively affected the country and destination countries.
This came during his speech at the “Trans-Mediterranean Migration Forum,” which was held in the capital, Tripoli, in the presence of ministers and delegates from 13 countries and international organizations.
Trabelsi indicated that the number of migrants in Libya may exceed 3 million people, as about 90 to 120 thousand migrants enter the country monthly through the desert.
He explained that preliminary statistics indicate that there are 2.5 million unofficial migrants in Libya, while the actual number may exceed 3 million if an official census is conducted.
He added that 760,000 migrants entered Libya this year until the beginning of July, and only 6,000 of them were deported.
Trabelsi stressed the importance of international cooperation to confront this phenomenon, stressing that Libya represents Europe’s first line of defense, and that Europe’s security begins from Libya’s borders with the Sahel and Sahara countries, and pointed to Libya’s commitment to the agreements with Italy and Malta to maintain their security.
The forum was attended by ministers and delegates from Italy, Malta, Tunisia, Turkey, Germany, Austria, the Czech Republic, Serbia, Sudan, Senegal, Chad, Spain, and Greece, in addition to the United Nations mission and international organizations.
It was also attended by the Chief of Staff of the Interim National Unity Government, Lieutenant General Muhammad Al-Haddad, the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Interior for Public Affairs, Major General Mahmoud Saeed, and the Head of the Border Service, Major General Muhammad Al-Marhani.
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