The EU will shortly present a new aid plan to curb the influx of African migrants via Libya, building on the deal it reached with Turkey in March, the BBC reported.

The European Commission will boost partnerships with nine countries in the Middle East and Africa, including Jordan, Libya, Ethiopia and Nigeria.

EU Migration Commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos said project funding could eventually reach €62bn (£48bn; $70bn).

Controversially it may include security help for Eritrea, Ethiopia and Sudan.

More than a million refugees and economic migrants entered the EU via the Mediterranean last year, many of them fleeing chaos and civil war in Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya.

Hundreds also drowned in tragedies at sea, when overcrowded, flimsy boats sank.

Source: MENA