Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte warned Saturday of any foreign military intervention in Libya as it would would escalate the refugee crisis in the Mediterranean rather than resolve the conflict.
Since the clashes between General Commander Khalifa Haftar and Tripoli-based Government of the National Accord (GNA’s Faiez al-Sarraj began on April 4 over Tripoli, 8,000 people have been forced to flee their homes in the western region, at least 47 people have been killed including two doctors, and 181 others have been wounded, according to the UN.
“A military option cannot be a solution,” Italian Prime Minister Conte’s told daily newspaper Il Fatto Quotidiano.
Italy, which supports Sarraj’s government, said a military intervention would force more residents to flee across the Mediterranean, particularly that Libya has long been used as a transit country for illegal migrants from Sub-Saharan countries heading to European countries, including Italy.
“There is a serious risk that a humanitarian crisis mounts,” he said.
