عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Arab World

Italy Offers Aid to Libya to Limit Illegal Migration to Europe

The bodies of migrants who drowned at see are retrieved in Libya. (Reuters)
The bodies of migrants who drowned at see are retrieved in Libya. (Reuters)
TT
TT

Italy Offers Aid to Libya to Limit Illegal Migration to Europe

The bodies of migrants who drowned at see are retrieved in Libya. (Reuters)
The bodies of migrants who drowned at see are retrieved in Libya. (Reuters)

Italy announced aid to Libya and Niger to establish projects aimed at “limiting the arrival of illegal migrants to Italian shores”.

Head of the Libyan Presidential Council Mohammed al-Menfi and head of the Government of National Unity (GNU) Abdulhamid al-Dbeibah were on a scheduled visit to Italy on Saturday to attend the International Conference on Development and Migration, organized by Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani.

The FM announced the allocation of 8.5 million euros to three projects in Libya and 7.5 million euros to three projects in Niger.

A statement by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the aid will help train local authorities in improving their abilities in managing illegal migration in line with international human rights. The trainings will also focus on the voluntary return of migrants.

Funds will also be dedicated to supporting the school system and creating new educational opportunities for the migrants and the host communities.

Tajani said the pledge underscores his government’s commitment to combat illegal migration.

He vowed to offer operational capabilities to Libya and Niger to help them combat traffickers.

Tunisia has become the main stepping stone for illegal migration to Italy, Europe's gateway, replacing Libya, where widespread abuse of migrants has been reported.

Of the 76,325 migrant arrivals in Italy so far this year until last Sunday, 44,151 took the sea route from Tunisia compared to 28,842 leaving from Libya, according to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.

Most Viewed

 
 
Arab World

Israel Military Issues Evacuation Warning for Tyre in South Lebanon

This photograph taken from the southern Lebanese area of Tyre shows smoke rising from the site of an Israeli strike in Hanniyeh village of Lebanon, on April 5, 2026. (AFP)
This photograph taken from the southern Lebanese area of Tyre shows smoke rising from the site of an Israeli strike in Hanniyeh village of Lebanon, on April 5, 2026. (AFP)
TT
TT

Israel Military Issues Evacuation Warning for Tyre in South Lebanon

This photograph taken from the southern Lebanese area of Tyre shows smoke rising from the site of an Israeli strike in Hanniyeh village of Lebanon, on April 5, 2026. (AFP)
This photograph taken from the southern Lebanese area of Tyre shows smoke rising from the site of an Israeli strike in Hanniyeh village of Lebanon, on April 5, 2026. (AFP)

The Israeli military warned residents of Tyre in southern Lebanon to evacuate on Wednesday as it continued to target the Iran-backed Hezbollah group.

"Urgent and repeated warning to residents of the city of Tyre, specifically in Shabriha ... you must evacuate your homes immediately," the military's Arabic-language spokesman Colonel Avichay Adraee said on X.

Earlier on Wednesday, Israel said it supported the two-week ceasefire deal between the United States and Iran but maintained the deal "does not include Lebanon", where it has been fighting Hezbollah.

Tel Aviv has been battling the group since it launched rocket fire at Israel in March.

The United States and Iran agreed to a two-week ceasefire in an 11th-hour bid to avert all-out destruction of Iran threatened by US President Donald Trump.

Arab World

Morocco Dismantles Terrorist Cell in 4 Cities

Moroccan security forces. AFP file photo
Moroccan security forces. AFP file photo
TT
TT

Morocco Dismantles Terrorist Cell in 4 Cities

Moroccan security forces. AFP file photo
Moroccan security forces. AFP file photo

Moroccan security forces have dismantled a six-member terrorist cell, according to a statement released by the Central Bureau of Judicial Investigations (BCIJ).

The suspects were apprehended during coordinated raids in Casablanca, Kenitra, Sidi Taïbi, and the Dar El Gueddari region of Sidi Kacem Province, BCIJ said on Tuesday.

Investigations revealed a criminal modus operandi centered on “legitimizing” the process of funding extremist activities through theft and money laundering.

The cell is accused of raiding livestock farms near Kenitra and Sidi Slimane, then reselling the stolen goods in markets across the Safi and Sidi Bennour provinces, BCIJ said in its statement.

During the operation on April 5 and 6, authorities seized extremist manuscripts, bladed weapons, and significant sums of Moroccan dirhams believed to be criminal proceeds.

Officers also confiscated equipment used in the robberies, including a balaclava, gloves, a motorcycle, and two vans used for transporting stolen livestock.

The BCIJ, operating under the General Directorate of Territorial Surveillance (DGST), confirmed that the suspects remain in custody.

The investigations, supervised by the Prosecutor General’s Office for terrorism and extremism, are seeking to uncover the full extent of the group’s criminal network and identify any remaining accomplices.

Arab World

Preliminary UN Probe Says Israel and Likely Hezbollah Responsible for Peacekeeper Deaths

A relative reacts next to the grave of Zulmi Aditya Iskandar, a United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) peacekeeper killed in Lebanon, after the funeral ceremony at Cikutra Heroes Cemetery in Bandung, West Java province, Indonesia, April 5, 2026. (Reuters)
A relative reacts next to the grave of Zulmi Aditya Iskandar, a United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) peacekeeper killed in Lebanon, after the funeral ceremony at Cikutra Heroes Cemetery in Bandung, West Java province, Indonesia, April 5, 2026. (Reuters)
TT
TT

Preliminary UN Probe Says Israel and Likely Hezbollah Responsible for Peacekeeper Deaths

A relative reacts next to the grave of Zulmi Aditya Iskandar, a United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) peacekeeper killed in Lebanon, after the funeral ceremony at Cikutra Heroes Cemetery in Bandung, West Java province, Indonesia, April 5, 2026. (Reuters)
A relative reacts next to the grave of Zulmi Aditya Iskandar, a United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) peacekeeper killed in Lebanon, after the funeral ceremony at Cikutra Heroes Cemetery in Bandung, West Java province, Indonesia, April 5, 2026. (Reuters)

The UN said that preliminary findings from its probe into the deaths of three Indonesian peacekeepers in Lebanon last month show one was killed by an Israeli tank projectile and two by an improvised explosive device most likely placed by Hezbollah.

"These are preliminary findings, based on initial physical evidence," UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told a news briefing on Tuesday, adding that ‌a full investigation ‌was continuing which included engagement with the ‌parties ⁠concerned.

Dujarric called the ⁠incidents "unacceptable" and said they could amount to war crimes under international law.

He added that the United Nations had requested that the cases be investigated and prosecuted by national authorities to bring the perpetrators to justice.

The Indonesian peacekeepers were killed in two separate incidents in southern Lebanon on ⁠March 29 and 30 after a ‌bloody weekend in which Lebanese ‌journalists and medics were also killed in Israeli strikes.

Indonesia has urged ‌the UN to thoroughly investigate in light of the ‌preliminary findings, Veronica Rompis, a senior foreign ministry official told reporters on Wednesday, adding that all perpetrators should be brought to justice.

Bombardment in southern Lebanon on Tuesday forced a ‌convoy of humanitarian aid organized by the Vatican's embassy for a besieged Christian town to ⁠turn back, ⁠a priest in the town told Reuters.

Also on Tuesday, a spokesperson for the peacekeeping force, the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, said the Israeli military had blocked a UNIFIL logistics convoy and briefly detained one of its peacekeepers.

The spokesperson, Kandice Ardiel, said that any detention of a United Nations peacekeeper was a blatant violation of international law and that the Israeli military had informed UNIFIL it had launched an investigation into the issue.