Haftar-led Libyan army ready to solve problem of illegal migration over Libya's southern border - general
MOSCOW. Sept 13 (Interfax-AVN) - The proposals made in the West to resolve the problem of illegal migration by setting up camps in southern Libya is a conspiracy against the country, Libyan National Army spokesperson Brig. Gen. Ahmed Al-Mismari said.
"We stand ready to guarantee the security of Libya's southern borders on the condition that the weapons embargo is lifted," Al-Mismari said at a meeting with employees of the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences on Wednesday.
Jihadist groups fought by the Libyan National Army, led by Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar, have recently started managing financial flows from illegal schemes facilitating the migration of people from African countries to Europe, he said.
A number of Western European countries, particularly Italy, are seeking to solve the illegal migration problem by setting up camps in southern Libya, Al-Mismari said. "This is unacceptable to us," he said.
The general described the proposal as "a great conspiracy" against Libya.
In particular, while the population of Tripoli is currently slightly more than two million people, there will be 10 million Africans in the city if the scheme is implemented, he said.
"We are trying to solve this problem through negotiations with Italy on revisiting the 2007 treaty, which, by the way, banned the establishment of camps in the south of the country," he said.