Probable retaliation against Italy, two Sicilian fishing boats seized. Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio had been in Libya a few days ago to meet Fayez al Serraj in an attempt to resume the economic agreements made in 2008 by the Berlusconi government. There are 100 Italian companies that operated in Libya before the clashes following the Arab Spring. The Italian move could have upset the Libyan counterpart that opposes the policy of al Serraj (head of the Government of National Accord supported by the UN and the International Community), counterpart led by the lord of Cyrenaica, General Kalifa Haftar who after the recent ceasefire he had been cornered on the national and international political scene.
Therefore, two Mazara del Vallo fishing boats were seized 35 miles off the coast of the African country. The episode took place last night and now the two boats 'Antarctica', with a crew of ten members, and 'Medinea', with six other people on board, are moored in the port of the city controlled by the men of General Khalifa Haftar. The news was reported by the Italian news agency AGI.
In the same area where the two fishing boats were located, the military attempted to seize two other fishing boats, "Anna Madre" from Mazara del Vallo and "Natalino" from Pozzallo, who managed to escape, but the two commanders were taken and led in Libya. The case is monitored by the general command of the Port Authorities and the crisis unit of the Farnesina.
“The presence of Minister Di Maio in Libya these days cannot be a coincidence. The circumstance worries us, but today we observe a respectful silence of the work that we know is being carried out in a frenetic manner at the Farnesina which in other circumstances has already been able to deal with similar events in an appropriate and effective way ”.
"We are in contact with the Farnesina to follow the affair with the utmost attention ", declared the councilor of the Sicilian Region for Mediterranean Fishing, Edy Bandiera, but the diplomatic efforts are made more difficult by the fact that Italy's interlocutor is not the government recognized by the UN and led by Serraj.
Antarctica and Medinea is just the latest in a series of hijackings of boats by Libyans. As soon as the crew heard the shots, they raised their hands without offering any resistance ": said on 10 October 2018 Gaspare Asaro, one of the owners of the Mazara del Vallo fishing boat" Matteo Mazarino "which together with" Afrodite Pesca "had been seized the day before by patrol boats from the African country. The crew consisted of seven men, including commander Alberto Figuccia, was on board the boat inside the port of Ras Al Hilal and was guarded by militiamen. Same conditions for the six crew members of the Aphrodite Pesca.
The "Matteo Mazarino" was at sea from 20 September. The anchoring by Libyan patrol boats took place 29 miles from the coasts of Derna, within the Zee (Exclusive Economic Zone) defined by the Libyan government in 2005 but not recognized by other countries: since 2005 Libya has unilaterally extended the own national waters 62 miles beyond conventional 12. Together with Aphrodite he was released two days later.
Between 22 and 23 July 2019 he touched the “Tramontana”, seized in the Gulf of Sirte by a Libyan patrol boat. The owner was Giuseppe Pipitone and on board there was a crew of 7 people: 5 Italians and 2 Tunisians. The Tramontana was boarded by armed men and the fishing boat was forced to head towards Misrata. The fishing boat was returning to Sicily, in Licata. He was released, too, after two days, later intense diplomatic negotiations.