Libya and Belarus allegedly involved in migration manipulation
The European Commission is investigating the involvement of Belarus and Russia with irregular migration into southern Europe after a string of unusual flights between the capital of Belarus and the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi, according to the Libya Review on August 4th.
A European Union official told the European news organization Euractiv, which focuses on EU news, that “The frequency and nature of these flights raise questions about potential facilitation of irregular migration flows,” and highlighted a noticeable increase in arrivals to Italy and Greece from Libya- between January and June of 2025, over 27,000 migrants arrived in Italy from Libya, and 7,000 landed in Crete, figures which are three times higher than in the same period in 2024.
The flights in question have been operated by a Belarusian airline, Belavia.
The concern of the EU is that the authorities in eastern Libya have possibly coordinated with Belarus to carry out these flights.
Since 2011 Libya’s governance has been split into two rival administrations after the overthrowing of dictator Muammar Gaddafi. The government in the western capital of Tripoli is recognised by the EU and the UN as well as some foreign governments, while the eastern government is based in and around Tobruk and Benghazi and aligned with the Libyan National Army, which is led by General Khalifa Haftar.
The eastern government in Libya is backed by, amongst others, Russia, a close ally of Belarus.
Therefore, the EU suspects that the suspicious flights they are investigating are an effort supported and backed by the Russian government, according to the Libya Review.
The EU’s concern comes from an incident during the 2021 migration crisis, when Belarus orchestrated migrants flows to the borders of Poland and the Baltic states by issuing visas and flying in migrants from the Middle East and Africa, allegedly with the backing of Russia.
The government of eastern Libya has expanded its cooperation with Belarus in recent months.
On March 14th it was reported that a Belarusian delegation visited Benghazi and signed six framework agreements covering health, agriculture, industry and oil.
On July 3rd, it was reported that the head of the eastern government in Libya, Osama Hammad, had visited Belarus to build on these framework agreements signed in March, discussing joint investment and mutual support.
Libya Review/Maghrebi
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