The Deputy Head of the Presidential Council, Mossa Al-Koni, said that the threat of Russian Wagner Group mercenaries "poses a danger not only to Libya, but also to the Sahara region", adding after his arrival in Brussels and meeting with the European Union (EU) Commissioner for Immigration and Home Affairs, Ylva Johansson, to discuss the files of immigration, security, economy, terrorism and cross-border crime.
In the first official Libyan response to Niger's decision to repeal the laws criminalizing illegal immigration, Al-Koni stated that the decision will create very serious repercussions for Libya. He added that repealing this law constituted a clear threat to southern Libya, especially the infiltration of some criminals or members of terrorist factions into the region.
Al-Koni said that the repercussions of what is happening in neighboring countries will cost Libya the greatest price, as the people will leave their homelands in light of the unrest that would befell their region, thus going to the nearest place, or to places where there could be available job opportunities.
Al-Koni explained that Europe now "has only two options: either to help Libya without delay to confront everything that is happening, or to leave it alone until the situation gets out of control."
He added that "the intimidation and killing which are faced by the residents of northern Mali at the hands of the Wagner mercenaries and the forces of the Bamako regime will have repercussions on Libya and Algeria," hence, he criticized the EU's silence regarding what is happening in Mali and the countries bordering southern Libya, noting that it will cause a migration of large numbers of the region's population toward Algeria and Libya.
