A Libyan patrol boat opened fire on a rescue vessel in the Mediterranean just days after 42 NGOs sent an open letter to Brussels warning that EU funding was enabling violence. Aid groups say the attacks expose the deadly consequences of Europe’s migration pact with Libya.

Gunfire in international waters

On the night of September 25, Sea-Watch reported that its ship, the Sea-Watch 5, came under live fire from a Libyan patrol boat while rescuing 66 people at sea. The NGO said one person drowned as a direct result of the assault.

InfoMigrants reports,

 Sea-Watch stressed that this particular Libyan patrol boat had been given to the Libyan coastguard in 2018 as part of an EU deal signed the previous year, according to which the authorities in Tripoli would be provided financial, technical and material support to intercept migrants and return them, building on another deal signed directly between the Italian and Libyan governments.

The NGO’s spokeswoman Giorgia Linardi said the Libyan attacks were therefore a “direct consequence” of EU migration policies. “It’s unacceptable that the Italian government, and the EU allows criminal militia to fire on civilians,” she added.

Though those on board survived, the NGO later confirmed that one person had been left behind to drown. The crew sent a Mayday relay and alerted authorities, including German federal police.

This is the second such incident in just over a month. On August 24, the SOS Méditerranée rescue ship Ocean Viking was also subjected to heavy gunfire in international waters, shortly after saving 87 people. The NGO reported that “hundreds of bullets” had been used against them.

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