EU studying civilian security mission to Libya: letter

Illegal migrants sit at temporary detention centre after they were detained by Libyan authorities in Tripoli, Libya October 12, 2015. REUTERS/Ismail Zitouny

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The EU's foreign policy chief has warned the bloc's foreign ministers that nearly half a million people displaced in Libya could migrate to Europe, saying that Brussels is also studying a civilian security mission to Libya. "There are more than 450,000 internally displaced persons and refugees in Libya who could be potential candidates for migration to Europe," EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini wrote in a March 12 letter seen by Reuters. Mogherini said planning was underway for a mission to rebuild Libya's police, counter-terrorism and border management operations to work with the United Nations. "The possibility of setting up a team of 'deployable experts' on migration and security issues ... could be explored," Mogherini said. (Reporting by Robin Emmott and Francesco Guarascio)