Amnesty International says authorities in both eastern and western Libya have recently intensified mass arrests, detentions and expulsions of migrants and refugees, accusing the EU of enabling abuses through support for Libyan migration control. The rights group reports hundreds were expelled — including Sudanese nationals — without access to asylum procedures. EU leaders say engagement with Libyan authorities is necessary to curb crossings and save lives at sea, while critics warn cooperation risks facilitating serious human-rights violations.
Amnesty Says EU Is Enabling New Libyan Crackdown on Migrants
Security personnel stand guard as protesters gather outside the headquarters of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), demanding the organisation leave the country and calling for an end to migrant settlement and the deportation of migrants and refugees, in Tripoli, Libya, June 4, 2026. Picture taken with a mobile phone. REUTERS/Ayman al-Sahili
BRUSSELS, June 23 (Reuters) - Amnesty International on Tuesday accused the European Union of complicity in a fresh crackdown on migrants and refugees in Libya, saying authorities in both the east and west of the country have stepped up mass arrests, detentions and expulsions over the past month.
Libya remains deeply divided between rival western and eastern authorities and has been a major transit route for people fleeing conflict and poverty toward Europe since the 2011 uprising that toppled Muammar Gaddafi. The dangerous Eastern Mediterranean sea crossing continues to drive migration attempts despite repeated efforts to curb departures.
The EU and its member states have for years supported and trained the Libyan Coast Guard, which intercepts migrants at sea. Although the EU formally recognises only the Tripoli-based government, officials say they have in the past year stepped up engagement with rival eastern authorities as well.
Amnesty said the recent campaign included mass arrests across several cities, forced evictions and the expulsion of hundreds of migrants — including nationals from war-torn Sudan — who were denied the opportunity to seek asylum or to challenge their deportation.
“The EU has long bankrolled migration control in Libya with its support to the Libyan Coast Guard, which has already made it complicit in horrific violations and abuses,”
Diana Elahawy, Amnesty International’s deputy regional director for the Middle East and North Africa, said. “Extending this cooperation to eastern-based armed groups with records of committing war crimes and other abuses with impunity shows a shocking disregard, not only for international law, but also for human life and dignity.”
The European Commission, the Tripoli government and the eastern administration did not immediately respond to requests for comment. EU officials have defended cooperation with Libyan authorities as intended to save lives at sea, curb human trafficking and strengthen border management.
In a letter to EU leaders last week, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said: “Continued EU engagement with Libya remains indispensable,” pointing to a rise in irregular crossings toward Greece via the Eastern Mediterranean route.
She added that the EU is providing targeted financial and operational support to strengthen border management, search-and-rescue and anti-smuggling capacities, and to reduce illegal departures and the loss of life at sea.
Last summer, EU Migration Commissioner Magnus Brunner travelled to eastern Libya for talks with local authorities but was expelled shortly after arrival, underlining the diplomatic complexities of engaging with split Libyan administrations.
(Reporting by Amina Ismail; Editing by Peter Graff)
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