Members of a group of 12 Sicilian fishermen detained in eastern Libya since the beginning of September for allegedly entering the country's coastal waters, have spoken by phone to their families, sources at the foreign ministry said on Thursday.
The sources said the phone-call took place via foreign ministry's crisis unit and followed foreign minister Luigi Di Maio's visit earlier this week to the United Arab Emirates, which is a main backer of warlord Khalifa Haftar and allied authorities in eastern Libya.
Di Maio is continuing work 'in many directions' for the fishermen's release, according to the foreign ministry sources
Over 50 boats have been seized, two confiscated, about 30 fishermen detained and dozens of people injured in the 25-year-old war of the 'gambero rosso' according to data from Sicily’s Distretto della Pesca.
The highly prized gambero rosso or red prawn can cost up to 70 euros per kilo.
Libya began protecting its fishing waters with the use of force in the 1990s and tensions there escalated in 2005 when late dictator Muammar Gaddafi unilaterally extended Libya’s territorial waters from 12 to 74 miles offshore.
