Security Official Rejects EU Intervention in Libyan Waters.

Tripoli, 22 June 2015(Lana) Libya is one of the most affected by illegal migration, being a transit and an attraction point at the meantime, an official said. This phenomenon has become a universal issue, which does not concern one particular country or province, said Col. Mohamed Abu Breida, Deputy Head of Anti-migrant Authority. The Libyan authorities are doing all they can to deal with this dossier, he said. In an exclusive interview with Lana Abu Breida said, the EU countries needed to coordinate with Libya, and to seek to promote economic projects in countries of origin, to provide jobs for the desperate locals who otherwise would seek to flee the dire economic conditions and armed conflicts. He lambasted EU measures to strike at vessels used by traffickers to ferry migrants in the Libyan waters, saying the decision constituted a flagrant violation of Libyan sovereignty. By taking such measures Europe thought only about their interests, he said. Why does not Europe talk about the oil that's being smuggled out of Libya illegally by known European bandits, he questioned. The security official disclosed that 20 detention centres for illegal migrants existed in Libya, where the state offers medical assistance and food. Abu Breida dismissed reports of mistreatment inside the centres, describing alleged reports of torture against migrants as baseless. The EU, he said, did not offer Libya any support to address this phenomenon. Libya stretches almost 2000km on the Mediterranean, and this helps traffickers to launch their operations from any point they want on the coast, he explained. Libya has not failed to address the illegal migration issue, and still is doing what it could to curb it, He said, adding that the issue has become an international one, not confined to particular region. Most illegal migrants come from Somalia, Eritrea and Ethiopia, he said. =Lana=