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Libya seeks EU patrol boats to stem migrants

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Valletta: The UN-backed Libyan government has asked the EU for a long list of equipment, including large patrol boats, to help stem the tide of African migrants fleeing to Europe, EU diplomatic sources said on Wednesday.


The European Union launched Operation Sophia in 2015 to crack down on people smugglers, but because it cannot operate in Libyan territorial waters it is also trying to boost the coast guard through training and supplying basic equipment.


So far its efforts have made little headway, with the Libyan government beset by militias and warlords who have been fighting for control since the West ousted long-time dictator Moamer Kadhafi in 2001.


The diplomatic sources said the Libyan government had asked for 130 boats of all sizes, some armed but with five patrol vessels to be up to 100 metres (330 feet) in length.


One EU source said the prospect of meeting the request in full was “currently not at all realistic,” as bloc defence ministers gathered in Malta for a two-day meeting beginning on Wednesday.


The fact that Libya failed to provide information on how the equipment would be used added to the doubts, the source said.


“The wishes are now being analysed in the EU,” a German defence ministry spokesman said. “The aim should be to equip the Libyan coast guard to the level actually required,” the spokesman said, adding that the requests would have to be “sensible.” One source said EU member states might first consider the return from Italy of four Libyan patrol boats left there after Kadhafi’s fall.


— AFP


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