Navy picks up 300 more asylum seekers
By Ahmed Elumami
The Libyan navy yesterday picked up almost 300 asylum seekers in two separate incidents just off the coast.
In the first interception, to the north-west of Garabulli, on Thursday morning, a naval vessel spotted and intercepted a broken-down rubber raft carrying 109 passengers. Navy spokesman Ayoud Ghasem told the Libya Herald that the majority of people on board the inflatable was from West Africa.
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WTM report:
http://watchthemed.net/reports/view/32
Over the last weeks, we have been collaborating in the investigation on the 11.10.2013 wreck, mainly led by Espresso journalist Fabrizio Gatti.
Today he published his last article, with definite evidence that Italian rescue agency was informed of the boats ‚ distress as of 12.26, passed on the coordination to Malta, and did not deploy any of its several vessels nearbye to rescue the migrants until after 17.00, when the boat sank. Italy claims Malta didn’t ask it to do so…
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http://espresso.repubblica.it/internazionale/2013/11/28/news/
Breaking news
Lampedusa, passing the buck of responsabilities: this is how they left the Syrian children drown
The „Libra“ ship of the Italian Navy was just a few miles away from the refugees. But it wasn’t engaged in rescue operations for hours. The first call for help reached the Coast Guard station in Rome. Which in turn passed on the intervention to Malta despite Italians were closer to the site of the shipwreck. „We acted in compliance with International agreements.“ This is how more than 260 people died on October 11. The shocking story on „l’Espresso“
di Fabrizio Gatti
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Tripoli will get checkpoint at its 9 entry points
By Sami Zaptia
Speaking at last night’s late press conference, Defence Minister Abdullah Al-Thini revealed that Tripoli will get checkpoints at its 9 main entry points.
Al-Thini confirmed that no one would be able to get into Tripoli without having to pass through these points, which he revealed would be manned by the Military Police.
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Pressemitteilungen von Andrej Hunko
Keine Kriegsschiffe der EU-Mitgliedstaaten gegen Flüchtlinge vor Lampedusa!
„Der Einsatz von Marine und Luftwaffe zur Migrationsbekämpfung wäre eine unfassbare Militarisierung der EU-Flüchtlingspolitik. Die Bundesregierung muss sofort dafür sorgen, dass dieser Vorschlag niemals in die Tat umgesetzt wird“, kritisiert der Bundestagsabgeordnete Andrej Hunko eine entsprechende Mitteilung des Europäischen Auswärtigen Dienstes (EAD) vom 19. November.
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http://www.heise.de/tp/artikel/40/40377/1.html
Festung Europa: EU will Migration im Mittelmeer mit Kriegsschiffen eindämmen
Zusammen mit der EU-Grenzpolizei FRONTEX und Italien sollen Militärs der EU-Mitgliedstaaten Flüchtlinge aufspüren. Auch Libyen, Ägypten und Tunesien könnten mitmachen
Nach den Schiffsunglücken vor Lampedusa Anfang Oktober blieb auch die Europäische Union nicht untätig: Auf Vorschlag Italiens wurde die Angelegenheit zunächst auf das Treffen der EU-Innenminister in Luxemburg gehievt. Im Ergebnis richteten die Minister eine „Taskforce Mittelmeer“ ein, die von der EU-Kommission geführt wird. Ihr gehören neben den Mitgliedstaaten und weiteren Agenturen auch der Europäische Auswärtige Dienst (EAD) an. Der EAD ist für die Gemeinsame Sicherheits- und Verteidigungspolitik (GSVP) zuständig, also die Gemengelage zwischen Außenpolitik und Militäreinsätzen.
Libya: An EU ‘civilian’ mission to train paramilitaries?
EUobserver.com
In the wake of a weekend of violence in Tripoli, EUobserver reports on “an internal EU paper – a blueprint for the border mission, Eubam Libya” — which details plans to “build up the ‘operational level’ of Libya’s ‘Border Guards (BG)’ and ‘Naval Coast Guard (NCG).’”
The news website explains that Eubam will take battalions from the 9,000-strong BG and the 6,500-strong NCG, which are “under the ‘direct command’ of the Libyan army’s ‘chief of staff,” out of the field, and train them in secure locations, before redeploying them into action.
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„[…] Gaining control of the militias is a huge challenge. Since last spring, the United States, Britain and Italy have been planning a multiyear program to train and equip a Libyan force of about 5,000 to 7,000 soldiers and a separate, smaller unit for specialized counterterrorism missions. This would give the government a core of strengthened forces around which to build its national security structure. On Saturday, however, the leader of the United States Special Operations Command, Adm. William McRaven, said no final decision on the training mission had been made. The project won’t deliver immediate results, but it needs to begin soon. […]“
US says Libyan armed forces training to go ahead
By Leonard Powell
The Pentagon have reaffirmed the US decision to provide basic combat training to the Libyan armed forces despite the recent bloodshed in Tripoli when protesters were fired on, according to yesterday’s edition of Defense News, the most influential US military publication.
“The training requested by Libya’s Prime Minister would be carried out by AFRICOM at a base in Bulgaria”, Pentagon spokesman Colonel Steve Warren told reporters on Monday.
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https://now.mmedia.me/lb/en/international/
Italian navy arrests 16 human traffickers off Libya
ROME – The Italian navy said Sunday it has arrested 16 human traffickers aboard a so-called „mother ship“ in international waters off Libya.
Submarine surveillance ahead of Saturday’s raid was „of particular importance, notably for gathering proof“ against the traffickers, it said in a statement.
The fishing boat served as a staging area from which the traffickers dispatched their clients – Syrian migrants seeking asylum or a better life – aboard smaller, often rickety vessels to destinations in southern Europe.
The boat had been under surveillance, including by drones, hi-tech radars, night-vision equipment and the submarine, under stepped-up operations launched after two shipwrecks last month claimed some 500 lives.
It was located some 500 kilometers [300 miles] southeast of Sicily, near Libya, the navy said.
Also Saturday, the navy rescued 176 Syrian migrants from one of the boats dispatched by the „mother ship,“ it said.
The navy said the „mother ship“ itself had sunk after it took on water while being towed towards an Italian port.
