Speaking to a delegation of journalists in July, the head of the Libyan Coast Guard (LCG) told the room that his crews have rescued more than 9,300 people from the Mediterranean Sea this year. Masoud Abdul Samad praised the group’s professionalism, and said it will continue to fulfil its duties from Libya’s new, EU-funded Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre once it becomes operational in October.

There was no mention of the masked armed men who intercepted a recent NGO rescue operation off the Libyan coast, nor of the video footage showing the LCG attacking a dinghy in the Mediterranean with dozens on board. The widespread and well-documented abuse and killings in migrant detention centres on Libya’s shores were not touched upon either.

This was a PR exercise, not an honest accounting of the coast guard’s activities or impact.

It was also part of a wider project of extracting resources from the EU, in exchange for being its border guard on the other side of the sea. Samad’s talk came a day after Libya’s prime minister, Abdul Hamid Dbeibah, urged Europe to send more money to prevent people from transiting through Libya to try to get to Europe. He told states they had a “moral responsibility” towards migrants and refugees, and should support their North African partners in securing their borders.

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