Libyan militia carried out pullback in Maltese SAR – reports

A Libyan militia brigade carried out at least two pullbacks in the Mediterranean in recent months, one of which was carried out in Malta's search and rescue zone, according to foreign media reports.

A joint investigation by Lighthouse Reports, Der Spiegel, and El Pais found that the Libyan militia Tariq Bin Ziyad, controlled by the son of Libyan general Khalifa Haftar, carried out two pullbacks in May and July this year.

One of these pullbacks happened in the Maltese search and rescue zone.

The investigation also found that at least four of the people who died in the Greek shipwreck last June were on the same boat that was pulled back to Libya from Maltese SAR on 25 May.

Around 500 people were on board the vessel in distress in the Maltese search and rescue last May. They remained missing at sea for a couple of days, but were eventually confirmed to have returned to the Libyan port of Benghazi.

Sea rescue NGOs immediately called it a pushback by proxy, but the Armed Forces of Malta insisted that they were not able to find the vessel in distress.

As EU leaders get to grips with migration, many have turned to the Eastern Libya military leader Khalifa Haftar, who has risen to become a central figure to Libya’s military-political complex.

Last May, a Maltese diplomatic delegation met with Haftar for talks in Benghazi. This was the first time a Maltese delegation met with the military general.

MaltaToday understands that the meetings with Haftar were focused on thematic issues, including security challenges in the region with regards to irregular migration.

The delegations agreed to extend military cooperation between the respective navies and military forces.

The delegation also discussed intelligence showing how migrant smuggling groups are using chartered flights from Syria to lure Bangladeshi people to Libya where they get onto boats to reach Europe.

MaltaToday reported on this intelligence last April, with criminal groups charging migrants €1,500 each for the transfer between Damascus in Syria and Benghazi in Libya, using flights operated by Syrian airline Cham Wings.