The Italian government said on Sunday that dozens of rival tribes in southern Libya had agreed to cooperate on securing the country’s borders in an effort to curb the influx of migrants trying to reach Europe.

The UN-proposed government’s Foreign Minister, Mohammed Sayala, has pointed fingers at the EU’s Operation Sophia, which is tasked with assisting and rescuing immigrants off the Mediterranean, saying it is encouraging illegal immigration.

European lawmakers on Friday extended sanctions against three Libyan politicians, citing concerns they are thwarting efforts to form a democratic government and violating a 2015 peace deal that was signed in Skhirat, Morocco under the UN auspices.

The interim government based in the eastern city of Bayda has deplored the 28th Arab League Summit in Jordan, accusing the Arab League of imposing a trusteeship government in Libya.

Arab leaders meeting at the Arab Summit in Jordan have given their “absolute” support for the Presidency Council (PC) and indicate that they will drop any links with the Beida-based interim government headed by Abdullah Al-Thinni.

The Arab Countries taking part in the ministerial meeting at the Arab Summit in Amman, Jordan called on Monday for more support for the Libyan Government of National Accord, which was formed under the supervision of the UN and the Arab League.

After the fall of Libya’s President Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, several actors – political and military – have been competing with one another for power and hegemony in Libya.

The Head of the Presidential Council, Fayez Al-Serraj, met Wednesday in Tripoli with the Director General of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) William Lacy Swing, to discuss the ever-developing issue of illegal immigration and human trafficking in Libya.

Tripoli Appeals Court’s administrative division ruled Wednesday to block the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between Libya and Italy to fight the growing influx of illegal immigrants and the issue of human trafficking as well as to help Libya secure its southern borders.

European and North African nations will step up military operations to target human traffickers in a bid to stymie migration flows, according to a deal reached on Monday.