Oct 25 (Reuters) – Libya’s foreign ministry summoned the United States chargé d’affaires on Sunday to protest comments made by President Donald Trump that it called offensive, after he described the North African nation as “terror‑infested”.
The ministry said it rejects any statements that undermine the dignity of its people or diminish their standing.
At a rally in Perry, Georgia, on Saturday, Trump claimed that “Senator Jon Ossoff personally sponsored a bill to bring armies of migrants from terror‑infested countries such as Libya, Yemen, Haiti and Somalia.” He added, “Remember what I called them? Shithouse countries,” echoing remarks from his first term.
Trump later posted on Truth Social, affirming that the United States remains committed to its ties with Libya and praising its people as “proud, resilient, hospitable and deserving of peace and prosperity.”
“We respect the Libyan people and the sacrifices that brave Libyans made fighting ISIS, the common enemy of both our peoples,” he wrote, but added that “Libya cannot remain a corridor for illegal migration, and this must end now.”
Libya’s rival administrations in the east and west both condemned Trump’s remarks, rejecting attempts to involve the country in what they described as “electoral debates.”
Reporting by Menna Alaa El-Din, Ahmed Elumami, Bhargav Acharya and Valerie Volcovici; Editing by Ros Russell and Clarence Fernandez
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