Foreign minister Enzo Moavero Milanesi on Friday praised the return to Italy of two fishing trawlers seized off eastern Libya earlier this week by the self-styled Libyan National Army commanded by rogue general Khalifa Haftar, which claimed the boats had entered Libyan waters.
“It is a result achieved through a sizable effort, carried out with great effectiveness and dutiful confidentiality and facilitated by our close relations with Libyan authorities and Italy’s resolve to foster the stabilization of a country that is so close to us," Moavero said in a statement.
"This success also confirms our commitment to always do our utmost to assist our fellow citizens in distress abroad,” he added.
The LNA had announced it seized the boast around 29 miles from the coastal city of Derna and brought them to the port of Ras al-Hilal. Boats. The vessels, both from Mazara del Vallo in Sicily, were fired on by coastguard and their crews detained, according to media reports.
The Italian embassy in Libya and the foreign ministry’s crisis had constantly followed the case and had received "reassurance on the treatment and good health conditions of the seamen during their detention," the statement ended.
Mazara del Vallo's mayor Nicola Cristaldi said on Wednesday that the seized fishing boats were the Afrodite Pesca, which had six people aboard, and the Matteo Marrarino, which had a crew of seven.
