Libyan Government (Tobruk) Will Not Support Proposed UN Security Council Authorisation of Use of Force Against Smuggler Boats

Libyan UN ambassador Ibrahim Dabbashi (representing the Libyan government based in Tobruk) told AP that Libya rejects the EU plan that may soon be considered by the Security Council to authorise the use of force to seize or destroy smugglers boats within Libya.

According to AP, the current Security Council president said that the Council expected that Libya would support the EU proposal, but Dabbashi said that his government “hasn’t even been consulted and rul[ed] out EU forces on Libyan soil ‘at this stage’. … ‘We will not accept any boots on the ground’.” Dabbashi also criticised expanded rescue operations: “He called the idea of deploying more boats to the waters off Libya to save migrants a ‘completely stupid decision’ because it would encourage even more migrants to come to his country, further burdening local authorities.”