US may soon deport migrants to Libya

The US may soon start deporting migrants to Libya as part of its crackdown on immigration, two US officials have told BBC partner CBS News.

The officials, who requested anonymity, said the US military could fly migrants to the North African country as early as this week.

The move is likely to spark controversy – Libya has been mired in conflict for more than a decade and the US state department advises Americans not to travel there due to factors like crime, terrorism and civil unrest.

The BBC has approached the US state department for comment.

Libya is thought to be one of several countries asked to accept migrant deportations by Donald Trump’s administration.

This week Rwanda confirmed it was in the “early stage” of talks with the US, while Benin, Angola, Equatorial Guinea, Eswatini, and Moldova have all been named in media reports.

It is not clear how many people the US hopes to deport to Libya, or which part of Libya the migrants would be sent to.

Since the overthrow of former ruler Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, the country has been divided into two – the west is ruled by a UN-backed government, while military strongman Gen Khalifa Haftar controls the east.

Haftar’s son met US officials in Washington last Monday, but the US state department and a Libyan spokesperson said the meeting was not about deportations.

Since returning to office in January, President Trump has launched a mass deportation campaign – at times relying on controversial tactics such as the invocation of a centuries-old wartime law.

Earlier this week, the government offered migrants who are in the US illegally a sum worth $1,000 (£751) to leave the country.