The European Union will launch a new naval and air mission in the Eastern Mediterranean to stop more weapons from reaching the warring factions in Libya, foreign ministers agreed on Monday. “We all agree to create a mission that blocks the flow of arms into Libya,” Italian Foreign Minister Luigi di Maio told reporters. The UN-recognized government in Tripoli is under attack from the forces of Gen Khalifa Haftar, which control most of eastern and southern Libya. The EU’s new naval and air mission is to operate in the eastern Mediterranean, away from the migrant-smuggling routes from Libya, which have caused bitter divisions in the EU. Austria led opposition to renewing EU naval patrols off the Libyan coast, but finally accepted a new mission with a different mandate from Operation Sophia, which had sought to stop people-smuggling gangs.

Source: The North Africa Journal February 18, 2020 13:52 UTC