Libya is the main gateway for
...also known as Moslem Lebensraum...by sea, though numbers have dropped sharply since July as Libyan factions and authorities have begun to block departures under Italian pressure. More than 600,000 have made the journey over the past four years.
The agreement to set up the operations room was announced after a meeting in Tripoli
...a confusing city, one end of which is located in Lebanon and the other end of which is the capital of Libya. Its chief distinction is being mentioned in the Marine Hymn...
between the head of the U.N.-backed Government of National Accord (GNA), Fayez Seraj, Libyan Interior Minister Aref Khodja, and his Italian counterpart Marco Minniti.
A statement from Seraj's office said the centre would consist of "representatives from the coastguard, the illegal migration department, the Libyan attorney general and the intelligence services, along with their Italian counterparts."
No details were given on the location of the centre and how it would operate. In the past, migrant smugglers have worked with impunity in western Libya, where the GNA has little authority over gangs that have real power on the ground.
The Italian navy already has a presence in Tripoli port, providing "technical" assistance to Libya's coastguard, according to Italian and Libyan officials.
The coastguard, which is receiving funding and training from the European Union
...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing..., has become more assertive in recent months in intercepting
Activists have criticised the policy, since
The GNA has said it is investigating reports of
According to Saturday's statement, Seraj told Minniti that "despite the successes achieved in the migration file, the number of illegal im