The Italian government is fully committed to obtaining the release of 18 fishermen detained in eastern Libya on 1 September for allegedly entering its waters, foreign minister Luigi Di Maio said on Tuesday, according to diplomatic sources.
Di Maio spoke to the fishermen's families, the mayor of the Sicilian fishing port of Mazara del Vallo, Salvatore Quinci and the owners of the two seized fishing boats and assured them the government is determined to resolve the "complex" case "positively", said the sources.
Di Maio also said there would be a cabinet meeting to ensure a "unified" approach to the case.
Libyan warlord Khalifa Haftar is reportedly refusing to release the Italian fishermen and their two boats until Italy frees four Libyan footballers who were arrested in Sicily in 2015 and jailed for 30 years on human trafficking charges.
Over 50 Italian boats have been seized off Libya in the past 25 years, two confiscated, scores of fishermen detained and dozens of people injured.
Seizures of Italian fishing boats became more frequent since 2005, when late Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi unilaterally extended Libya’s territorial waters from 12 to 74 miles offshore.
The 180 miles of the Mediterranean sea that separates Libya from Italy are also fishing grounds for one of the world’s most prized crustaceans: the red prawn, which sells for 50-70 euros per kilogramme.
