Armed vessels linked to Libya coast guard attack migrant rescue ship

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Armed vessels linked to the Libyan coast guard opened fire Monday on the Sea-Watch 5 rescue ship in the Mediterranean shortly after the vessel saved about 90 migrants from an overcrowded wooden boat, an aid group operating the ship said.

Sea-Watch, a German nongovernmental organization, said its crew conducted the rescue at around 0800 GMT on Monday, about 27 miles from Libya’s coast, and came under attack afterward. The group said the approaching vessels “fired live ammunition, first a single shot and then a burst of 10 to 15 rounds, and ordered the ship to stop,” adding that the crew and rescued people were then aboard at the time and feared for their lives.

Sea-Watch said the crew issued a mayday call and alerted Italian and German authorities. It said it later sent a second distress call after vessels linked to the Libyan coast guard were reported nearby.

A government spokesperson in Tripoli, Libya, did not respond to an inquiry seeking comment on the incident. Sea-Watch also said tensions have persisted in the area during rescue operations, citing similar episodes reported by humanitarian groups in recent years.

Italian coast guard official Roberto D’Arrigo said Italy had received a report of the incident and described it as a security matter. “This appears to be a security incident, for which the relevant bodies and authorities have been informed, including the vessel’s flag state (Germany),” D’Arrigo said, adding that the Sea-Watch 5 was in the search-and-rescue area patrolled by Libyan authorities when the incident happened.

The search-and-rescue area is where local authorities coordinate responses to people in distress at sea, according to the account provided by the rescue group and the Italian official. Sea-Watch 5 was later escorted out of the area and was heading north toward the Italian port of Brindisi, which was designated as a place of safety, the Italian coast guard said.

Sea-Watch spokesperson Julia Winkler said the group feared for the safety of those on board and called on European governments to intervene and stop what she described as an attack by forces “paid and legitimized by them.” She said the aid group rescued all the people who had been on the wooden boat.

The incident took place against a backdrop of European Union efforts to reduce migration flows through Libya. The EU has an agreement with Libya to cut the number of migrants traveling through the country and has given Libya 700 million euros ($824 million) since 2015, much of it aimed at reinforcing border management, according to the aid group’s account.

Sea-Watch stressed that the Libya-linked coast guard has been involved in recurring maritime confrontations with NGOs. It pointed to last August’s reporting by SOS Mediterranee that Libya’s coast guard fired on a vessel it operates, the Ocean Viking, while it was searching for a migrant boat in distress in the Mediterranean. Italy’s migration policies in the central Mediterranean have long relied on cooperation with Libya, including support, training and equipment for the Libyan coast guard to intercept migrant boats, critics say the arrangement has fueled tensions and exposed migrants to abuse when they are intercepted and returned.