Italian Defence Minister, Lorenzo Guerini, condemned the Libyan Coastguard for firing shots at Italian fishermen after one was injured, saying it was “a dangerous matter.”
“I want to thank the military navy for its timely intervention yesterday and last Monday,” Guerini said in a statement on Friday, according to NOVA news agency.
Guerini explained that Italian ships and defence assets are constantly present in that area, in order to implement the international agreements in force.
On Friday, the Italian Foreign Minister, Luigi Di Maio, condemned the Libyan Coastguard for firing shots at Italian fishermen after one was injured, warning Italian boats against crossing into “dangerous” Libyan waters.
“On the other side of the sea is a country where there are still tensions and it is dangerous. We have been advising against going there not just for months but for 10 years,” Di Maio said in remarks to Italian media.
Notably, Libya arrested 18 Italian fishermen in September 2020, and accused the fishermen of fishing in Libyan territorial waters. They had been detained in Benghazi for over 100 days.