Libya pledges to get tough on illegal immigrants

Declarations by top government officials in Tripoli, that Libya will be stepping up its efforts to curb illegal immigration and human trafficking, were "very well received" in Brussels, Libyan sources told The Times yesterday.

The declarations are being interpreted as a sign that Libya is prepared to cooperate more closely with the EU on this problem.

With the weather already getting milder across the Mediterranean, the EU southern member states, including Malta, are bracing themselves for the start of the "illegal migration" season.

The majority of illegal immigrants landing on Maltese and Italian soil leave North Africa from Libyan ports.

Libyan Labour Minister Maatuk Maatuk announced this week that Libya will no longer tolerate being used as a launching pad for illegal migrants into the EU. He issued an ultimatum to illegal migrants, saying they had until the end of this month to leave the country, or else start paying taxes. He also warned that employers found hiring illegal workers will be heavily fined.

Following these decisions, thousands of Egyptian illegal migrants were reported to have left Libya in the past few days. Libya said it had arrested 312 human traffickers and confiscated 74 boats.

A spokesman for the International Organisation for Migration said yesterday that currently there are up to 2,000,000 illegal immigrants in Libya, more than 25 per cent of the country's population.

Most come from sub-Saharan Africa including Sudan, Mali and Guinea.

Last summer, Libya refused to grant permission to the EU border control agency Frontex, to patrol its territorial waters during a joint mission by Malta, Italy and Greece.

However, European Commission sources said yesterday that Frontex is this year hoping Libya will change tack.

Malta is again expected to take part in these patrols through the deployment of its maritime squadron.