Libya has summoned the United States chargé d’affaires to protest President Donald Trump’s description of the North African country as “terror-infested”.
Libya’s Foreign Ministry said on Sunday that it had called in the US diplomat over remarks Trump made at a rally in Perry, Georgia, on Saturday.
During the rally, Trump criticised US Senator Jon Ossoff over a bill concerning immigration and referred to Libya, Yemen, Haiti and Somalia as “terror-infested countries”.
He also used an offensive term to describe the countries while recalling similar remarks he made during his first term in office.
In response, Libya’s Foreign Ministry said it rejected statements that undermined the dignity of its people or diminished their standing. The ministry also objected to the country being drawn into US domestic political disputes.
The ministry delivered a diplomatic note seeking official clarification and correction of the remarks, according to Libya’s Government of National Unity.
Libya’s rival administrations in the east and west also condemned Trump’s comments, rejecting what they described as attempts to involve the country in electoral debates.
Trump later said on his Truth Social platform that the United States remained committed to relations with Libya, describing its people as “proud, resilient, hospitable, and deserving of peace and prosperity”.
He added that Libya could not remain a corridor for illegal migration, saying the situation had to end.
The diplomatic protest comes amid renewed debate in the United States over immigration and the countries from which migrants are accepted.
