France announces plan to vet asylum-seekers in Libya

ORLEANS, France: France will set up processing centres in Libya for asylum seekers trying to reach Europe across the Mediterranean, President Emmanuel Macron announced on Thursday.

"The idea is to create hotspots to avoid people taking crazy risks when they are not all eligible for asylum. We’ll go to them," Macron said during a visit to a refugee shelter in central France, adding the plan would be put in place "this summer", with or without other EU countries.

But officials in the French presidency cast doubt on whether the centres could be established that quickly, saying the security conditions were "not yet in place". Human Rights Watch said it had serious concerns about Macron’s announcement, saying it "raises an enormous number of questions".

Lawless Libya is the main launchpad for African migrants trying to reach Europe across the Mediterranean in rickety boats operated by smugglers that frequently sink. Macron’s announcement came two days after he brokered talks in Paris between the leaders of the two rival authorities in the war-torn country, who committed to a conditional ceasefire.

Presenting the agreement, Macron said he hoped a return to stability in Libya would check the outflow of migrants. Since January, more than 100,000 people have made the perilous voyage across the Mediterranean, according to the International Organisation for Migration. Over 2,300 have drowned in the attempt.

The vast majority land in Italy -- the EU country closest to north Africa -- which has complained of a lack of solidarity from its neighbours in dealing with the influx. Macron said he would send officials from the French asylum bureau to help out in Italy. "I am also ready to send some to Libya," he said, adding he was ready to go it alone, if necessary.