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Italian effort to stop migrants fuels bloody battle in Libya

Italian effort to stop migrants fuels bloody battle in Libya | iNFOnews.ca
FILE - In this July 28, 2011 file photo, taken on a government-organized tour, a Libyan man walks through the Roman amphitheater at the Sabratha archaeological site in Libya. Rival Libyan militias have turned their guns against each other in fierce fighting that has killed dozens the past weeks and endangered Roman ruins in Sabratha. The fighting is in part fallout from an Italian-backed deal that funded militias to act as police forces to stop migrants from crossing the Mediterranean to Europe. The deal dramatically reduced migrant crossings, but sparked a backlash from other militias in the city. (AP Photo/Tara Todras-Whitehill, File)

CAIRO – More than 90 people have been killed in weeks of fighting between Libyan militias in the city of Sabratha in a conflict that erupted in part as an unexpected consequence of Europe’s efforts to halt migrants crossing the Mediterranean.

Thousands have fled the city, according to the Red Crescent and local officials. Fighting has also taken place inside Sabratha’s landmark antiquity site, the 1,800-year-old remains of a Roman city. The death toll of at least 93 includes at least eight civilians, says Essam Karrar, the head of Sabratha Civil Society Federation

The fight broke out in mid-September. Italy has funded two militias in Sabratha to halt boatloads of migrants, which succeeded in dramatically reducing the flow but also sparked a backlash from rival militias, local officials say.

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Abbey Westbury

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