Fayez al-Sarraj, the head of Libya’s Government of National Accord (GNA), has said he “absolutely rejected” a European Union plan to establish migrant centers in Libya.
“We are absolutely opposed to Europe officially wanting us to accommodate illegal immigrants the EU does not want to take in," Sarraj told German mass-selling daily Bild in an interview published on Friday.
"We also won't agree on any deals with EU money about taking in more illegal migrants," he said.
Sarraj told the newspaper that European leaders should instead put pressure on migrants' origin countries to stop them embarking on their journey in the first place.
"We save hundreds of people off the coast of Libya every day - our ships are constantly on the move," he said, adding that Libya was being left to rescue migrants from the Mediterranean alone and needed more technical and financial support.
Meanwhile, the website of the parliament in the eastern Libyan city of Tobruk posted a video in which one of its members accused UN’s Libya envoy Ghassan Salame of bias in favor of the Muslim Brotherhood.
“We have proof on such accusations,” said MP Ibrahim al-Zgheed.
The lawmaker urged UN chief Antonio Guterres to change the United Nations Support Mission in Libya for not being “neutral” and failing in achieving its tasks as a mediator between the Libyan factions.
