Libyan official accuses Europe of trying to 'export' migrant crisis
Tripoli - Some European countries are trying to export the crisis of illegal migrants to Libya, Abdel-Rahman Sewehli, head of the troubled country's advisory High Council of State, has said.
"There is a disagreement of multiple forms and a narrow vision based on pursuit of interests mostly in the European Union about how to deal with this problem," he told dpa.
"We should not ignore the fact that some European countries want to export their crises and those of the migrants' homeland countries to transit states such as Libya," Sewehli added without elaborating.
His remarks come after reports have alleged that African migrants in Libya have ended up in modern-day slave camps.
"I hope that everyone will deal with these reports as being press reports and not reports issued by a neutral side that has conducted a credible investigation," he said.
"This does not mean we are not facing enormous problems resulting from the crisis of illegal migration."
Last month, leaders from the EU and the African Union agreed an evacuation plan that will allow migrants to be repatriated from Libya.
The deal was hammered out at an emergency meeting on alleged migrant slave markets in Libya held in Ivory Coast.
Libya has descended into chaos since the 2011 revolt that toppled long-time dictator Muammar Gaddafi.
The North African country has since emerged as the gateway to Europe for people fleeing war, persecution and poverty. Hundreds of thousands have made the dangerous journey across the Mediterranean towards Italy.
DPA