War could see ‘800,000 Libyans f lee to Europe’

liBYA’s renewed conflict could force hundreds of thousands of refugees and terrorists to flee the country to europe, its prime minister has warned.

Fayez al- sarraj said the war will ‘spread its cancer’ throughout the Mediterranean as he also claimed the bloodshed could push islamic state terrorists to countries such as italy.

He said there are ‘800,000 migrants potentially ready to leave’. He added: ‘there would be libyans fleeing this war, and in the south of libya the terrorists of islamic state that the tripoli government had expelled from the town of sirte three years ago.’

His deputy, Ahmed Maiteeq, echoed the warning in rome yesterday. He claimed 400 is fighters held in tripoli and Misrata could take advantage of the chaos and escape. Hashem Abedi, the brother of Manchester bomber salman Abedi, is among those being held in tripoli as he awaits extradition to Britain for his role in the massacre. He is being held at the sprawling Mitiga airport, which was hit by an airstrike last week amid intense fighting that risks a brutal civil war.

security sources last night said there was a ‘real risk’ that the militia holding Hashem could release him in the chaos. libya’s specialist military police force last night confirmed he was still in jail and there were no plans to release him.

Mr sarraj also lambasted russianbacked General Khalifa Haftar, the commander of eastern libyan forces, as a man who has ‘betrayed’ his country.

Haftar’s libyan National Army took the arid south of the country earlier this year before moving to tripoli ten days ago in a major escalation of the conflict.

speaking to an italian newspaper, Mr sarraj said Haftar’s foreign-funded forces were ‘attacking civilian structures’, adding: ‘[His] treacherous actions will bring destruction to libya and neighbouring countries. No negotiation will be possible if [his army’s] attack on the population does not cease and if it does not withdraw.’

A romanian people smuggler who tried to sneak seven people into the UK was jailed for four-and-a-half years yesterday.

liviu Borobeica was caught using a specially adapted van to transport the group – which included two children – by Border Force officers at Dover on March 16.

the migrants, who claimed to be from Afghanistan, were crammed into a hidden space which could only be accessed by removing the rear seats.