Twelve Sicilian fishermen held in Libya since early September are "a humanitarian problem" while "legal" issues around their detention that both sides will soon resolve, deputy premier Ahmed Maitig said on Tuesday.
"We know that the fishermen are a humanitarian problem and we want to see them go home soon," Maitig told the 2020 Mediterranean Dialogues Forum.
There are legal issues with Italy that need to be resolved as the fishermen entered Libyan waters "illegally", Maitig said.
"But I am sure both sides will solve these problems very soon," Maitig stated.
Med Dialogues is a high-level annual meeting promoted by Italy's foreign ministry and the (Italian Institute for International Political Studies (ISPI) in Rome.
Over 50 boats have been seized, two confiscated, about 30 fishermen detained and dozens of people injured over the past 25 years in the 'gambero rosso' war 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.
