A powerful militia known for smuggling people from Libya is seeking legitimacy from the Tripoli government in exchange for preventing migrant boats from leaving the country, a senior group member has said.

Refugees and migrants are dying in the Mediterranean at a quicker rate than last year, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) has reported, as rights groups raise alarm over abusive conditions in Libya – now the main country of departure.

During a debate at the European Parliament on Tuesday, EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said that illegal immigration managed by mafias is “a new form of slavery”. EURACTIV Spain reports.

In Sabrata, Libya’s main departure point for clandestine migrants hoping to reach Europe, people trafficking gangs are under so much pressure that some have closed for business.

London is hosting Thursday a six-party ministerial meeting in the presence of the foreign ministers of the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Italy and the United Arab Emirates, as well as the United Nations envoy to Libya, Ghassan Salameh.

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker says “Europe has got a collective responsibility” to help improve migrant detention conditions in Libya.

Arab foreign ministers have called for the UN freeze on Libyan assets abroad to be lifted. Making the call at the Arab League foreign ministers meeting in Cairo yesterday, they said that access to the money was needed by the Presidency Council (PC) to fund services needed by the Libyan …

There’s no shortage of news on Libya’s migration crisis, but there is a serious dearth of policy solutions.

A European and African deal to stem the flow of migrants coming through Libya to Europe fails to tackle the abuses they face, the top U.N. human rights official wrote on Friday.

The attendees of the African Union summit on Libya have confirmed in the final statement of the Brazzaville-held political event that there is no military solution in Libya, adding that only a Libyan-Libyan dialogue without foreign intervention can solve the crisis.