According to Libyan And Italian websites, Italy’s Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Marina Sereni reported on August 5 that the Ministry of Defence in the Government of National Agreement (GNA) has imposed bureaucratic restrictions on the Italian soldiers accessing Misrata after August 15.
The news came in an official written answer delivered by the Deputy Minister to the committee related to her Ministry in the lower branch of the Italian parliament. The answer was about the 17 Italian soldiers whose access to Misrata was rejected on July 30th.
Deputy Minister Sereni quoted an excerpt from a letter sent by the GNA’s Deputy Minister of Defence, Salahedin Namroush, to the Italian military attaché in Tripoli on July 16th.
The excerpt reads, “Entry visas won’t be granted to the Italian citizens unless after Ministry of Defence’s approval. Applications shall be submitted through the Libyan Embassy to Italy, 14 days ahead; no exception will be allowed, including applications for the field hospital in Misrata.”
The Italian statement also reported Deputy Namroush later confirmed to the Italians that such restrictions would be applied just after August 15th.
According to the Italian Deputy Minister, the Italian personnel who had flown from Italy to Misrata needed a service passport along with a verbal note, but no visas from the Libyan Embassy in Rome was required.
“This has been going on for years until July 30, 2020,” the answer reads.
The official answer of the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs couldn’t clarify why exactly such restrictions were imposed. Above all, the suggested date of August 15th wasn’t eventually met, as the access was rejected already on July 30.
Three separate official requests for clarifications were submitted over what happened on July 30th. One was from ex-Minister of Interior Matteo Salvini’s party Lega, another from ex-Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi’s Forza Italia, and the other from the Partito Sardo d’Azione in conjunction with Lega; all of them belonging to the right-wing opposition in the Italian parliament.