Quelle: The Guardian
Swedish coastguard fired warning shots at Italian navy boat off Libya after mistaking it for vessel belonging to smugglers earlier this week
Two European naval boats involved in Mediterranean migrant rescue missions were engaged in friendly fire this week off the coast of Libya, in what is believed to be the first incident of its kind.
The Swedish coastguard vessel Poseidon, which is part of an EU-led border patrol and rescue mission, fired warning shots at an speedboat driven by the Italian navy, fearing that it belonged instead to smugglers. Twice in the past few months, Libyan smugglers have clashed with coastguards as the Libyans attempt to retrieve their boats once the migrants have been rescued from them.
A spokeswoman for Frontex, the EU agency that runs the border patrol mission, said no one was hurt or in danger, and the situation was soon clarified and resolved. Ewa Moncure said: “The Italian boat slowed down, and was able to be identified, and that was it.”
