Italy's premier Giuseppe Conte received thanks on Thursday from his Tunisian counterpart Hichem Mechichi for the release of 18 fishermen - among them several Tunisian citizens - from over three months of custody in Libya, Conte's office said in a statement.
Mechichi thanked Conte for his role in freeing the fishermen from Sicily's the Mazara Del Vallo fleet during a phone conversation that focused on Italy's partnership with Tunisia and bilateral cooperation on migration, the statement said.
The fishermen were held in Benghazi after local security forces intercepted their boats off Libya's coast on 1 September for allegedly entering the country's waters.
The men's release came after Conte and Italy's foreign minister Luigi Di Maio flew to Benghazi on Thursday for talks with eastern warlord Khalifa Haftar, whose forces detained the fishermen.
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