Libya Rejects Receiving U.S. Deportees, Denies 'Any Agreement Or Coordination' And Points At 'Parallel Parties Not Subject To Legitimacy'

The Libyan provisional government denied on Wednesday having reached an agreement with the Trump administration to receive third-country deportees.

In a publication reported by NBC News, the country's Government of National Unity said it "categorically denies the existence of any agreement or coordination with it regarding the reception of any migrants deported from the United States."

The body also pointed at "some parallel parties that are not subject to legitimacy" as potentially involved with the news. The rejection comes after CBS News quoted U.S. officials saying that deportation flights to the war-torn country could begin as early as this week.

Khalifa Haftar's Libyan National Army, which controls the eastern half of the country and some enclaves in the west, also rejected the possibility, saying it would "violate the sovereignty of the homeland."

The State Department has a Level 4 travel advisory for Libya, warning Americans not to travel there due to "crime, terrorism, unexploded landmines, civil unrest, kidnapping, and armed conflict." The country is also transited by many migrants who try to reach Europe. Advocates and U.S. officials have received accounts of mistreatment and even torture in detention centers in the country.

Trump officials are also seeking to send migrants to another African country: Rwanda. The country's foreign minister, Olivier J.P. Nduhungirehe made the announcement late Sunday on a state broadcaster, Rwanda TV. He said the country's government was in "early stage" talks about receiving third-country deportees from the U.S.

The Washington Post also reported this week that the Trump administration urged the Ukrainian government to accept third-country deportees. The outlet added that it is not clear how Kyiv responded to the request. So far Ukraine is not known to have received U.S. deportees from other countries.