EU agrees new mission to block arms supply in Libya

Moaz Mohamed

In an attempt to stop the smuggling of arms to the armed militias supporting Al-Wefaq government in Tripoli, Italy’s foreign affairs minister Luigi Di Maio has said European Union member states have agreed to start a mission to block the entry of weapons into Libya.

“The European Union commits to an aerial and naval mission, with a terrestrial component, to block the weapons and the entry of weapons in Libya,” Di Maio said in Brussels.

The decision was announced following talks of the EU’s 27 foreign affairs minister in Brussels.

The mission, he said, was not a revival of Operation Sophia, and would be deployed on the East coast of Libya where arms trafficking is taking place.

EU member states agreed to supply seven plans and seven boats for the mission, should they have them available.

“All the EU States have agreed to create a mission that blocks the entry of arms into Libya.

“Now the EU is committing with a naval and air mission, and with ground resources too, to block the entry of arms into Libya.”

He stressed “the Sophia mission no longer exists, now there is a mission that blocks arms”.

Libya’s capital Tripolifrom teleconferences to reporters on human situations and developments in the country United Nations (UN) Libya Humanitarian Aid Coordinator Yakub El HilloHe said that the long-running war in the country affected civilians from all walks of Libya to a degree never seen before.

“It is estimated that there are between 150 thousand and 200 thousand tons of uncontrolled weapons in Libya where the most unsupervised military ammunition in the world is used, and Libya uses unmanned aircraft technology. It has become the biggest theater in the world,” he added.

Austrian counterpart Sebastian Kurz has warned the Operation Sophia rescue missions created a situation where human traffickers earned more money for their illegal activities based on the Libyan coast, where civil conflict has contributed to local lawlessness.

Operation Sophia began in 2015, and while it was renewed twice in 2019 for six-month mandates, the latest, which ends in March 2020, has been significantly scaled down and has not been renewed again. Since its inception it has rescued some 50,000 migrants from the sea.