Europe must end chaos in Libya to halt migrant boat arrivals – Niger’s president

If Europe wants to halt migrant boat arrivals on its shores from Africa it must end the state of chaos in Libya, Niger’s President Mahamadou Issoufou said on Thursday. Niger is a country of transit for migrants seeking to reach Europe by boat from Libya. Issoufou is an ally of the West in its fight against Islamist insurgents based in Mali and Nigeria. On Wednesday, the president said, before talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, that his administration wanted more European assistance for Niger in the fields of security and development. “As long as Libya remains in the current chaos, the stability and the security of the Sahel countries is at stake,” he told Reuters. Since 2014, Libya has been divided between competing political and military groups based in Tripoli and the east. Southern Niger, which borders Nigeria, has been the target of frequent deadly raids by Islamist Boko Haram militants.