Nato says ready to help Italy in Libya

ROME: NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said Sunday the alliance was prepared to help out in troubled Libya as it grapples with a migrant crisis but warned there were no military solutions.

Speaking to Italian daily La Repubblica, Stoltenberg said: “NATO is ready to help Libya construct its security institutions”.NATO experts were already “in contact with Libya authorities to see how to assist them better,” he added.

“Any support from Italy would be welcome but that is up to the Italian government,” he said. Libya has been gripped by chaos since a NATO-backed uprising toppled and killed dictator Moamer Kadhafi in 2011, with rival administrations and multiple militias vying for control of the oil-rich country.

The chaos has seen the country become a key departure point for thousands of migrants hoping to reach Europe, with hundreds drowning each year trying to cross the Mediterranean.Hundreds and thousands of migrants making the perilous journey have arrived in Italy in recent years.