Eastern Libyan Authorities Impose Entry Ban on Iranians and Afghans

The eastern-based government of Libya announced that Iranian and Afghan nationals are prohibited from entering the country through all land, air, and sea ports.

The restriction, announced late Wednesday, extends earlier entry limits imposed by the eastern administration on nationals of four African countries in June.

The government did not provide a reason for the decision.

“The nationals of both Iran and Afghanistan are prohibited from entering Libyan territory through all land, air, and sea ports of entry,” the government said in a statement posted on its verified Facebook page.

The Ministry of Interior is responsible for implementing the decision and for deporting Iranian and Afghan nationals who do not hold valid residence permits.

The move comes as Libya has become a transit route for migrants fleeing conflict and poverty to Europe across the Mediterranean since the 2011 fall of Muammar Gaddafi to a NATO-backed uprising. Factional conflict has divided the country since 2014.

The Benghazi-based government of Osama Hamad is allied with military commander Khalifa Haftar, who controls the east and large areas of southern Libya.

The internationally recognized government of Abdulhamid Dbeibah, who came to power through a UN-backed process in 2021, is based in Tripoli.

In June, Hamad’s government banned nationals of African countries — Sudan, Eritrea, Ethiopia and Somalia — citing a “reorganization of foreign nationals’ entry to Libya.”

The statement said that accredited diplomatic and consular missions and family members are exempt. The same applies to those working in medical and educational professions, provided they have obtained work authorizations.

Libya is home to more than 900,000 migrants, according to UN data collected in June.

Source link