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CIVILIAN refugee rescuers have saved the lives of more than 400 people in just 72 hours in the central Mediterranean with no help from the European maritime authorities.

The activist-run emergency hotline organisation Alarm Phone alerted the crew of the Sea-Eye 4 to 50 people in need of rescue on Friday as they reached the Libyan search-and-rescue (SAR) zone.

All they found, however, was an empty wooden boat missing its motor, Kai Echelmeyer, a spokesman for the German charity Sea-Eye, which operates the ship, told the Star today.

Though areconnaissance plane belonging to the European Border & Coastguard Agency (Frontex) had been circling the boat before the Sea-Eye 4 arrived, it had failed to communicate with the rescuers.

Everything indicates that the people were illegally pushed back to Libya by the so-called Libyan coastguardwith the help of Frontex,Mr Echelmeyer said.

Later that day the crew brought on board two Libyan men who had tried to cross the world's deadliest border in a small motorboat.

From 11am Sunday to noon today, the Sea-Eye 4 launched five rescue operations and rescued more than 400 people.

This shows again the indispensable need of sea rescue in the Mediterranean.

The ships third rescue only happened because the crew spotted a circulating Frontex plane and eventually found about 170 people.Again, Mr Echelmeyer said, Frontex did not notify the Sea-Eye 4 of the distress case.

The last rescue, which Alarm Phone alerted Sea-Eye to, took place within Maltas SAR-zone,he said.Nevertheless the European authorities did not communicate with us at all."

These examples show yet again that Europes policy in the central Mediterranean is either letting people drown or helping the Libyans push them back into a country at civil war.

Having saved hundreds of lives on its maiden voyage, the Sea-Eye 4 is now calling on the European authorities to provide the rescue ship with a safe port to disembark, as international maritime law dictates.

Sea-Eyes previous ship, the Alan Kurdi, was finally allowed to leave the Italian island of Sardinia last month after spending six months in detention following the rescue of 133 people in October.

Meanwhile, the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) warned today that more than 680 migrants had been intercepted and taken back to Libya on Sunday night.

IOM spokeswoman Safa Msheli said on social media today that support to Libyan SAR entities should be contingent on no-one being arbitrarily detained or subjected to human rights violations.

Without such guarantees, such support should be reconsidered.

On Thursday she reported that nearly 8,000 migrants have been intercepted and returned to Libya so far this year.Today there are only some 4,000 people in official detention centres: thousands are unaccounted for.

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400 refugees saved in 72 hours off Libyan coast with no help from European authorities - Morning Star Online

By Sami Zaptia.

The Libyan Tunisian exhibition 23-25 May.

London, 17 May 2021:

More than 150 Tunisian institutions from various sectors have confirmed their presence to exhibit their products and services at the Libyan Tunisian Economic Forum: Towards Linking with Africa.

The revelation was made yesterday by the co-organizers, the Tunisian African Business Council (TABC). TABC also revealed that more than 1000 Tunisian participants will visit Tripoli to follow the activities of the event.

The event will be held at the Tripoli International Fairgrounds from 23-25 May.

The event is co-organized by TABC, in partnership with the Sebha Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture, the Libyan General Union of Chambers of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture, the Tripoli Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture and the Libyan Export Promotion Centre.

The Libyan Tunisian Exhibition 23-25 May | (libyaherald.com)

Tunisia to increase fruit exports to Libya which imports 70 percent of its production | (libyaherald.com)

Libyan-Tunisian cross land border trade back to its peak | (libyaherald.com)

Tunisian ambassador visits Misrata Chamber to strengthen economic cooperation | (libyaherald.com)

Tunisian ambassador affirms desire to operate lines to Misrata Maritime Terminal | (libyaherald.com)

Misrata Maritime Terminal preparing to launch cruise trips to Istanbul after Eid | (libyaherald.com)

Passenger and goods shipping line between Tunisian ports and Misrata are being considered | (libyaherald.com)

Libya and Tunisia reactivate Ras Ajdir unified customs window agreement to strengthen bilateral trade and flow of travellers | (libyaherald.com)

Libyan-Tunisia fund for Libyan reconstruction being considered: Libyan-Tunisian Businessmen Council | (libyaherald.com)

Tunisian President Kais Saied makes historic official visit to Libya | (libyaherald.com)

Investment, fishing, agriculture and construction identified as areas of increased Libyan-Tunisian cooperation at Sfax conference | (libyaherald.com)

Libya and Tunisia discuss cross border municipality bloc for better economic cooperation | (libyaherald.com)

Libya seeks Tunisian help in vocational training and workers in fishing, agriculture and health sectors | (libyaherald.com)

Passenger and vehicle traffic running smoothly at Libyan-Tunisian Ras Jedir land border | (libyaherald.com)

Libya-Tunisia border will not be closed under any circumstances: Tunisian PM Mechichi | (libyaherald.com)

Tunisia approves reopening of Libya land border to passengers | (libyaherald.com)

Libya-Tunisia agreement on unified health protocol to pave way for opening borders | (libyaherald.com)

Tunisias new ambassador to Libya hands in credentials | (libyaherald.com)

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More than 150 Tunisian institutions confirmed for the 23-25 May Libyan Tunisian Economic Forum | - Libya Herald

Libyan Foreign Minister Najla el-Mangoush. REUTERS/Hazem Ahmed

A senior official at Libya's new Presidency Council denied on Saturday that groups who entered a hotel where the body meets had been armed or used force, playing down an incident that had appeared to illustrate the risks facing the unity government.

Earlier, the Council's spokeswoman had said armed groups had stormed the Corinthia Hotel on Friday, though she also said nobody from the body had been in the building at the time.

"There was no kidnapping, gunfire, or an attack on me or the hotel," the head of the Presidency Council's office, Mohamed al-Mabrouk said in a social media video, adding that he had been in the hotel at the time of the incident.

Mabrouk said the head of the Presidency Council, which functions as Libya's head of state for now, would meet with the groups involved.

The Presidency Council was chosen through a United Nations-facilitated process that also selected a new Government of National Unity that took office in March, replacing rival administrations in east and west.

Armed groups based in western Libya have voiced anger at the Government of National Unity's Foreign Minister, Najla el-Mangoush.

CHALLENGES

Unity Prime Minister Abdelhamid Dbeibeh has worked to win support from Libya's many rival factions, forming a large cabinet that includes an array of ideological and regional figures.

However, both the Presidency Council and Government of National Unity have faced internal criticism and challenges to their authority.

In eastern Libya, commander Khalifa Haftar and his Libyan National Army (LNA) still hold sway nearly a year after their 14-month offensive to seize the capital collapsed.

In Tripoli, the armed groups that pushed Haftar back from the capital with Turkish support still control the streets.

Foreign mercenaries remain entrenched on both sides of the heavily fortified front line, despite international calls for the warring sides to pull them from the country.

Last week, Foreign Minister Mangoush repeated the call for all foreign fighters to leave while standing next to visiting Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu.

Turkey says its military presence in Libya is different to that of other foreign forces because it was invited by the previous U.N.-recognised government and it will not withdraw until others do.

Before Friday's incident, an operations room for the Tripoli armed groups said on social media that it had met to discuss "irresponsible statements" by Mangoush and later called on the GNU to formally reject Haftar.

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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Libya presidency denies armed groups attacked hotel where it meets - Reuters

Foreign Minister Najla al-Manqoush urges Turkey to comply with UN resolutions, expel foreign fighters from Libyan territory.

Libyas top diplomat has called for the departure of foreign forces and mercenaries from the North African country as it heads towards elections later this year.

Najla al-Manqoush, foreign minister of Libyas interim government, urged Turkey on Monday to implement UN Security Council resolutions demanding the repatriation of more than 20,000 foreign fighters and mercenaries from Libya.

We call on [Turkey] to take steps to implement all the provisions of the Security Council resolutions and to cooperate together to expel all foreign forces and mercenaries from the Libyan territories, al-Manqoush said.

Her remarks came at a joint news conference with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu. He visited Tripoli along with Defence Minister Hulusi Akar and other top military and intelligence officials.

The remarks were seen as a rebuke to Turkey, which has deployed troops and Syrian mercenaries to fight along with Tripoli militias since forces of eastern-based military commander Khalifa Haftar launched an offensive to wrest control of the capital their attack in 2019.

Cavusoglu responded by saying that Turkish forces were in Libya as part of a training agreement that was reached with a previous Libya administration.

We attach importance to preservation of Libyas integrity, sovereignty, independence, and political unity, he said.

In the face of the attacks on Tripoli, the legitimate government of Libya invited some countries, including us. Only Turkey replied in the affirmative to this call, he continued, saying there are some parties that sought to equal Ankaras presence with that of foreign mercenaries that are in Libya for monetary gain.

Turkey has been closely involved in Libya, backing the UN-recognised Government of National Accord based in Tripoli that controlled the west of the country, against the offensive by Haftar and his self-styled Libyan National Army.

Turkey sent military supplies and fighters to Libya, helping to tilt the balance of power in favour of the Tripoli government.

Turkey also signed an agreement with the Tripoli-based government delineating the maritime boundaries between the two countries in the Mediterranean, triggering protests from Greece and Cyprus.

Both countries denounced the agreement, saying it was a serious breach of international law that disregarded the rights of other eastern Mediterranean countries.

Libya was plunged into chaos when a NATO-backed uprising in 2011 toppled longtime ruler Muammar Gaddafi, who was later killed. The oil-rich country was in recent years split between rival east- and west-based administrations, each backed by different armed groups and foreign governments.

Libyas interim government, which took power in March, is meant to steer Libya through a general election on December 24.

Security Council diplomats have said there are more than 20,000 foreign fighters and mercenaries in Libya, including 13,000 Syrians and 11,000 Sudanese, along with Russians and Chadians.

The United Nations Security Councils 15 member nations agreed in an informal meeting last week that getting the foreign fighters and mercenaries to go home was the only way forward, according to officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because the meeting was closed.

Original post:
Libyas top diplomat calls on Turkey to withdraw foreign fighters - Al Jazeera English

An Italian fisher wounded when his trawler was machined-gunned by the Libyan coastguard was fired on from a boat supplied by Italys government to help Tripoli control the flow of migrants.

Libyan authorities, who say the coastguard vessel fired warning shots into the air, said three Italian fishing vessels had entered Libyan territorial waters without authorisation before the incident on Thursday, the latest episode in a territorial dispute involving crews from the Sicilian port of Mazara del Vallo who fish for red prawns off the Libyan coast.

The fishers were freed following the intervention of an Italian navy vessel, which also managed to rescue the man after his arm was injured in a volley of machine-gun fire.

The Italian navy confirmed the patrol boat that fired the shots was the former Italian coastguard patrol boat 660, nicknamed Ubari, which was provided to the Libyans in November 2018 to intercept migrants crossing the Mediterranean. It followed a 2017 deal signed by Italys former interior minister Marco Minniti and the leader of Libyas UN-backed government, Fayez al-Sarraj, to train and equip its coastguard. The deal empowered the Libyan coastguard to intercept migrant boats at sea and redirect them to Libya, where aid agencies say refugees are abused and tortured.

The Libyan coastguard colonel Massoud Abdalsamad told Italian media his men fired warning shots into the air against vessels which had allegedly trespassed into Libyan waters. He was approached for comment but has not responded.

A Guardian investigation revealed in April that Massoud had been wire-tapped by Italian prosecutors investigating sea rescue charities for alleged complicity in people smuggling . On one occasion, in June 2017, when asked by Italian coast guards to rescue a migrant boat in distress, Massoud replied: Its a day off. Its a holiday here. But I can try to help. Perhaps, we can be there tomorrow.

According to data compiled by the International Organization for Migration by the end of that weekend 126 people died.

The trawler captain, Giuseppe Giacalone, told the Italian news agency ANSA: It is a miracle we are alive. We were shot at. The cabin of our boat is full of holes. It was 2pm on Thursday when it happened. While we were sailing towards the north-east, a Libyan patrol boat caught up with us and started shooting. The shots hit us and the dashboard glass shattered.

According to aid agencies, the Libyan patrol boat Ubari is the same vessel that allegedly ignored a distress call from a migrant dinghy before the deaths of 130 asylum seekers on 22 April.

The incident with the fishing boats is likely to spark a row in Italy after the prime minister, Mario Draghi, went to Libya in early April and complimented the coastguard, saying he was satisfied with the rescues carried out by Libya.

Italian fishing boats have previously been attacked by Libyan authorities as far back as the mid-1990s, when Tripoli began protecting its fishing waters from foreign vessels with the use of force.

In the 180 miles of sea that separates Libya from Italy, the War of the Gambero Rosso, named after the prized red prawn found in those waters, has continued for decades but intensified after 2005, when Muammar Gaddafi unilaterally decided to extend Libyas territorial waters from 12 to 74 miles offshore.

According to data from Sicilys Distretto della Pesca, a cooperative of fishing industry stakeholders, in the past 25 years more than 60 boats have been seized or confiscated, about 40 fishers detained and dozens of people injured.

The most serious recent incident took place in September 2020, when two Sicilian fishing boats named Antartide and Medinea were approached by Libyan patrol boats that accused them of fishing in Libyan territorial waters and, from there, were transferred to Benghazi, a region in eastern Libya controlled by Haftar.

The 18 fishers from Sicily eight Italians, six Tunisians, two Indonesians and two Senegalese were held captive in Libya for more than 100 days and were eventually freed in December, ending a political standoff between the two countries over the fate of the men.

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Libyan coastguard boat that shot Italian fisher was provided by Rome - The Guardian