Italy will host a meeting between European and North African countries next week in a bid to strengthen support for an agreement it struck with Libya to fight people smuggling as migrant arrivals surge. Last month, Italy pledged money, training and equipment to help Libya fight people smugglers, a deal that was endorsed by European Union member states. “I’m not so naive as to not understand the situation there,” Italian Interior Minister Marco Minniti told reporters. As part of the deal, Italy and the EU have promised to fund migrant camps on Libyan soil, but they need UN agencies to help manage them. On Friday, Italy’s opposition 5-Star Movement also took issue with the Libya agreement, calling it “a sham”.

Source: The North Africa Journal March 18, 2017 14:15 UTC