Macron Announces Plans of «Military Action» in Libya

Local Editor

French President Emmanuel Macron said Wednesday EU leaders were pondering to crack down collectively on people's smugglers in Libya, in an interview with a local news network.

"We are proposing to take police and military action. We are not waging war but this is a country in a political transition," he told France 24.

He said groups of human traffickers were smuggling people from the Sahel region to the Mediterranean coast, from where they were sent on their way to Europe. Thousands have perished in the sea.

European and African officials have been meeting in Abidjan in Cote d'Ivoire to address this and other issues. Macron said he had discussed Libya action with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni.

Libya is one of the main transit countries for migrants. According to UN figures, 90 percent of migrants, who cross the Mediterranean to Europe depart from Libya. The civil war in Libya, as well as the unstable situation in the region, have brought the humanitarian situation in the country to a critical state. Over a million people are in need of humanitarian assistance in Libya.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team