Chaos in Libya following General Khalifa Haftar’s offensive has increased the risk of terrorist presence on migrant boats headed for Italy, Interior Minister Matteo Salvini said, adding that the country’s ports would remain closed.
“Islamic terrorist infiltration is no longer a risk, it has become a certainty: it is therefore my duty to reiterate that no docking will be allowed on Italian shores” he said in a radio interview on Wednesday.
Salvini, leader of the anti-immigrant League party, refused to say if Italy’s stance could change in the case of a fully-fledged war in Libya after the latest flare-up in the cycle of anarchy gripping the country since dictator Muammar Qaddafi was toppled in 2011.