Rights groups hailed on Monday a French decision to drop plans to offer six boats to Libya's coast guard.

French officials confirmed they had cancelled the delivery after eight NGOs filed a lawsuit against the move, criticising Libya's treatment of migrants.

Lola Schulmann of Amnesty France -- one of the NGOs involved in the case -- told AFP she hoped the decision would mark "a turning point in relations between France and Libya in terms of migration policy".

Defence Minister Florence Parly had announced in February that France would provide semi-rigid inflatable Sillinger crafts to help Libya's unity government consolidate its control of the war-torn country.

But rights groups assailed the plan, accusing Libyan officials of routinely picking up migrants in the Mediterranean and bringing them back to overcrowded detention centres, where many have been victims of abuse and forced labour.

"This transfer was initially planned to help Libya, but the ministry has decided not to deliver the vessels to this state," the army ministry wrote on November 26 to the administrative appeals court in Paris.

"The situation in Libya does not permit the offer of these boats," a ministry source who requested anonymity confirmed to AFP.

The rights groups, which also included Doctors Without Borders, praised the cancellation of an offer they said would have made France "complicit in the crimes committed against migrants and refugees in Libya".

Libya, wracked by conflict since the 2011 uprising against Moamer Kadhafi, has become a major transit route for migrants from sub-Saharan Africa and elsewhere hoping to reach Europe.

Some 40,000 refugees and asylum seekers also live outside detention centres in urban areas in Libya, according to the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR).

In 2017, the unity government, which is battling forces loyal to military strongman Khalifa Haftar, signed a controversial deal with Italy to intercept migrant vessels before they reach international waters.

Fisher Sand and Gravel nabs $400M contract for border wall in Arizona
Washington (UPI) Dec 3, 2019 - Fisher Sand and Gravel Co. has been awarded a $400 million contract to design and build a 31-mile section of the proposed wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.

The deal, announced Monday by the Department of Defense, covers the design and construction of wall along the southern perimeter of Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge in Yuma County, Ariz.

The Army Corps of Engineers solicited five bids and received three for the contract, with work expected to be finished by Dec. 30, 2020.

The North Dakota-based construction firm has received public plaudits from the Trump administration, and CEO Tommy Fisher has said his firm can work five to 10 times faster than competitors as a result of its construction process.

The company is currently building three miles of wall on private land for the group We Build the Wall, a non-profit organization that uses private donations to support President Trump's push for a physical barrier along the southern border. Former White House strategist and immigration hardliner Steve Bannon sits on its board of directors.

Fisher has sought government contracts for the border wall that was a centerpiece of President Donald Trump's presidential campaign since at least 2017, when it debuted a prototype for the wall.

In April, the company sued the federal government over its bidding process for an $800 million contract for the border wall. That case was terminated by a judge's ruling in may.

The company also has a history of red flags, including environmental and tax violations that have netted it more than $1 million fines and landed a former co-owner of the company in prison for tax fraud.

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Libya navy says over 200 migrants rescued from Med
Tajura, Libya (AFP) Nov 30, 2019
Libya's navy said Saturday it had rescued 205 migrants in an operation off the coast of Tripoli. The rescue took place on Friday, with 158 men, 33 women and 14 children taken from three inflatable boats off the coast of Zawiyah, 45 kilometres west of the capital, a navy statement said. After receiving calls for help, coast guards had found the boats between 45 and 50 nautical miles (83-93 kilometres) offshore, it said. The migrants, who came from African nations including Mali, Ivory Coast a ... read more