Libya’s eastern administration orders EU delegation to leave immediately

Libya’s eastern-based administration, led by putschist General Khalifa Haftar, on July 8 ordered an EU commissioner and three EU member state ministers to leave the country immediately, cancelling their scheduled talks in Benghazi.

The delegation, which included the EU commissioner for internal affairs and migration Magnus Brunner, Italy’s Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi, Malta’s Interior Minister Byron Camilleri, and Greek Migration Minister Thanos Plevris, had arrived in Benghazi after holding talks in Tripoli with the U.N.-backed Government of National Unity led by Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah, Caliber.Az reports via Turkish media.

Accusing the bloc’s delegation of a "flagrant breach of diplomatic norms," the eastern authorities announced the cancellation of the visit and demanded the delegation "leave Libyan territory immediately."

Osama Hammad, head of the eastern administration, declared all four men persona non grata shortly after their arrival. He urged all diplomats and representatives of non-governmental organisations to "respect the sovereignty of the Libyan state," though he did not provide further details.

The European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, did not immediately respond to requests for comment from AFP.

Since the fall of Moammar Gadhafi in 2011, Libya has been engulfed in conflict between armed factions and remains deeply divided. An internationally recognised government operates out of Tripoli in the west, while forces loyal to General Haftar maintain control over the east.

By Vugar Khalilov