The French humanitarian organization SOS Méditerranée has filed a legal complaint in France accusing Libya’s Tripoli-based coast guard of attempted murder, following a shooting incident involving the rescue ship Ocean Viking in August.
In its statement, the NGO said that the lawsuit was submitted jointly with seven crew members of the Ocean Viking, after the vessel came under live fire while conducting a rescue mission in international waters off the Libyan coast on August 24. The ship was reportedly searching for a distressed migrant boat after completing two earlier rescue operations coordinated with Italian authorities.
According to SOS Méditerranée, the Libyan coast guard fired several rounds directly at the vessel, causing damage that included four shattered windows, two destroyed antennas, and three damaged rescue boats. The organization described the incident as a deliberate and life-threatening act against humanitarian workers performing rescue operations at sea.
The NGO has called for an independent, transparent investigation into the attack and demanded accountability for all those responsible, including those who supported or financed the operation. SOS Méditerranée pointed out that the patrol boat used in the incident had been supplied to the Libyan coast guard through a European Union–funded program.
The organization strongly criticized the EU’s continued financial and logistical support to Libyan maritime forces, calling it “unacceptable” given repeated incidents of violence and human rights abuses against migrants and humanitarian crews. It accused the EU of indirectly enabling actions that violate international law.
Human rights and migrant advocacy groups have joined SOS Méditerranée in urging Brussels to suspend its cooperation with Libyan authorities, arguing that the country’s coast guard routinely engages in violent interceptions and mistreatment of migrants at sea and in detention centers.
The NGO emphasized that the attack underscores the risks faced by humanitarian workers in the central Mediterranean, the world’s deadliest migration route.
