Libya and Tunisia urge Europe for additional migrant crisis relief

At the Trans-Mediterranean Migration Forum in Tripoli on Wednesday, the prime ministers of Tunisia and Libya called on European nations to provide more funding to help manage the flow of migrants

“More assistance must be provided to countries such as Tunisia,” said Tunisian Prime Minister Ahmed Hachani. “The aid provided is insufficient to address the problem. There are towns that have absorbed migrants beyond their ability.”

Thousands of migrants fleeing violence and poverty have temporarily settled in Tunisia, aiming to reach Europe. Their large-scale arrival has triggered protests.

Libyan Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah emphasized that European countries have a “moral responsibility” to aid people “who cross the desert and the sea” to reach Europe.

The International Organization for Migration reported in May that over 706,000 migrants were in Libya at the beginning of the year. However, Libyan officials claim the real number is above two million.

Despite the European Union providing billions of dollars in aid to North African nations to address migration, the migrant flow continues. European nations have been accused of turning a blind eye to the numerous accounts of migrant abuse in Africa.

Human rights organizations have documented instances of migrants being killed, tortured, extorted and forced into slavery.

At the conference, attended by representatives from 28 African and European countries, Italy’s far-right prime minister Georgia Meloni, who prioritizes tackling migration, stated that the issue needs to be addressed in the countries of origin.

She condemned “criminal organisations” that “decide who has the right or not to live in our countries”, adding that “illegal migration is the enemy of legal migration”.