(Reuters) Malta told its European Union partners on Friday it would no longer take part in a new Mediterranean mission to stop more arms reach[ing] warring factions in Libya, just four days after the naval and air operation began patrols.
A Maltese government spokesman and two EU diplomats told Reuters the decision was in protest at what Valetta said was an EU failure to help deal with migrants arriving from Libya, where the conflict has escalated sharply since April.
Malta is not a European military power, but the decision is a blow to a mission which began on May 4 after months of difficult diplomacy over which EU countries, if any, should take in any migrants rescued at sea.
