WATCH | AFM did not witness Libyan coastguard shoot at migrant boat: minister

An Armed Forces of Malta patrol vessel did not “see or find anything” when carrying out verifications over allegations the Libyan coastguard shot at a boat carrying people towards Europe.

“Upon receipt of information in international waters, immediate verification was conducted through several means including aerial monitoring with national and Frontex aircrafts and diverted vessels. A fishing vessel was located navigating on a steady northerly course in international waters. No visible commotion was noticed onboard whilst being monitoring and meanwhile throughout the whole period RCC Malta tried to contact the vessel and did not receive any distress calls from this vessel,” a spokesperson for the AFM told this newspaper.

The boat continued to proceed towards its intended destination and was intercepted on Monday morning near the Italian coast.
“There is no available information in order to confirm or deny the alleged shooting incident,” the spokesperson said.

NGO Alarmphone on Sunday claimed a boat carrying people inside Malta’s search-and-rescue (SAR) zone has been shot at by the Libyan coastguard. Alarmphone is an independent NGO that supports people crossing the Mediterranean Sea to the EU. The NGO has hotlines for people in the Mediterranean to make a distress call.

Questioned on the incident on Monday morning, Home Affairs Minister Byron Camilleri confirmed an AFM vessel had carried out its independent verifications on the incident.

He insisted the incident happened inside international waters, where Malta has no jurisdiction or control.

“We also have to see whether the allegation is true or not, because similar allegations were made about the AFM in the past, and turned out to be false,” Camilleri said.

He did not reply directly to questions on whether the outcome of an investigation into the case would be made public, given a cooperation agreement between Malta and the Libyan coastguard.

“I have to point out that if traffickers continue to promote this kind of immigration, more people will die, and that is the reality,” he said.