Some 400 ISIS fighters held in
Tripoli and Misrata may take advantage of the chaos in Libya and
flee to Europe, Libyan Deputy Premier Ahmed Maitig told the
foreign press in Rome Tuesday.
"With the ongoing war in Libya hundreds of thousands of
migrants may easily reach European shores," he added.
"But even worse may happen," he said, alluding to the ISIS
fugitive threat.
Maitig said his government "has worked with the international
community to keep these terrorists prisoners".
Despite this, he said, "we see that some partners are backing
(eastern strongman General Khalifa) Haftar's offensive" on the
UN-backed government in Tripoli.
Talking to Interior Minister Matteo Salvini later, Maitig
said there was a "concrete risk" of a civil war developing in
Libya.
The Italian interior ministry on Tuesday issued a directive
aimed at dealing with terrorists possibly arriving from wartorn
Libya.
"Hundreds of Islamic terrorists could arrive in Italy taking
advantage of the chaos in Libya," it said.
"It is no accident that France has officially asked to extend
the closure of its borders with Italy for another six months for
a national emergency linked to terrorism".
"The interior ministry is responding with a directive".
There is a risk of foreign fighters arriving from Libya if
migrant flows surge due to the chaos there, Premier Giuseppe
Conte said Tuesday.
"We are very concerned about the Libya crisis, we have always
worked and will continue to work to avert a humanitarian crisis
that may expose us to the risk of the arrival of foreign
fighters on our soil," he said.
"We must absolutely avert an escalation", he said.
Conte added that "Italy's immigration policy has never been
reduced to open ports yes or no.
"This is a beautiful simplification for the public, but those
that follow it can discover that Italian immigration policy is
much more complex".
Dozens have been killed in fighting in Libya since eastern
strongman General Khalifa Haftar ordered his Libyan National
Army (LNA) forces to advance on Tripoli, where the UN-backed
Government of National Accord is located.
Some 800,000 refugees including criminals and ISIS-linked
fighters are set to invade Italy from the conflict-torn country,
Premier Fayez al-Sarraj told Corriere della Sera Monday.
Italy's 'closed ports' policy may not be enough if there is a
migrant surge as feared from wartorn Libya, Transport Minister
Danilo Toninelli said Tuesday.
"The line is that if thousands of asylum seekers were to
arrive, the closed ports approach cannot be enough," he said.
Toninelli told Italian radio that "we'll have to open other
European ports" and "there will have to be a redistribution" of
migrants.
"The approach must be international", he said.
Sarraj said the refugee surge was likely if the conflict with
Haftar escalates.
Asked about being probed for a migrant standoff with the EU
in Sicily, Toninelli said "it's not a medal".
"We must continue to save lives but this must be done in
safety and security", he said.
Toninelli is being probed along with Interior Minister
Salvini, Premier Conte and Deputy Premier Luigi Di Maio
in the case of the German NGO-run SeaWatch 3 whose 47 rescued
migrants were allegedly "kidnapped" at Siracusa for 12 days.
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