Libyan prime minister Fayez al-Serraj has said that the country is not willing to have EU migrant centers built in its territory under any circumstances and that no agreements will be signed to take back refugees from the EU.
The EU's naval rescue operation Sophia had been paused over Italian threats not to allow migrant disembarkation at its ports. Rome is now giving the EU five weeks to find a solution to share the migration burden.
More than 800 Syrian refugees living in the border city of Arsal in Lebanon have now returned to Syria. Since the beginning of 2018, around 13,000 Syrian refugees have returned to their home country.
The Spanish NGO Proactiva Open Arms has filed a complaint, including of involuntary manslaughter, against a cargo ship and the captain of the Libyan coast guard, for failing to help three migrants who were adrift in the Mediterranea1
The UNHCR has said that progress was made in the field of healthcare for refugees in 2017 despite a record high number of internally displaced persons.