The eastern-based administration in Libya, headed by Prime Minister Osama Hamad, has officially banned citizens of Afghanistan and Iran from entering territories under its control via all land, sea, and air crossings.
The executive order, announced via an official government statement, also instructs the Ministry of Interior to deport Afghan and Iranian nationals currently residing in eastern Libya who lack valid residence permits.
Scope of the Ban and Exemptions
While eastern authorities provided no explicit reason for targeting citizens of Afghanistan and Iran, the decree outlines specific institutional exemptions:
- Diplomatic Immunity: Accredited members of diplomatic and consular missions, along with their immediate families, remain exempt from the entry restrictions.
- Essential Workers: Foreign personnel employed in the medical and educational sectors are permitted entry and residency provided they hold valid work authorizations and official clearance.
- Deportation Mandate: Interior Ministry security organs have been tasked with identifying and expelling undocumented individuals belonging to the affected nationalities.
Expansion of Border Controls Along Transit Corridors
The decision expands on earlier migration restrictions enacted by the Benghazi-based government, which previously barred entry to nationals from Sudan, Eritrea, Ethiopia, and Somalia as part of a campaign to regulate foreign presence.
Libya remains deeply divided between the UN-recognized Government of National Unity (GNU) in Tripoli and the eastern administration allied with military commander Khalifa Haftar in Benghazi. Due to political fragmentation and unmonitored coastlines, Libya continues to serve as a major primary transit route for migrants seeking maritime passage across the Mediterranean to Europe, with UN metrics placing the total migrant population in Libya at over 900,000.