This week's airstrike on a Libyan detention centre killed at least 53, in a possible war crime. Over 100 people picked up at sea by the EU-trained Libyan Coast Guard were disembarked and transferred to the Tajoura centre (Photo: © UNICEF/Romenzi)

EU dismisses UN call to stop migrant returns to Libya

EU & the World

Migration

by Nikolaj Nielsen, Brussels,

The European Commission has dismissed calls by the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) to halt the return of people rescued at sea to war-torn Libya.

The UN call followed the airstrike this week that killed at least 53 people at the Tajoura detention centre in the outskirts of the capital, Tripoli, including six children.

Asked to react on the UN demands, the European Commission declined.

"I am not going to give reactions to specif...

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EU & the World Migration

Author Bio

Nikolaj joined EUobserver in 2012 and covers home affairs. He is originally from Denmark, but spent much of his life in France and in Belgium. He was awarded the King Baudouin Foundation grant for investigative journalism in 2010.

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