« Hundreds of shells fired by the Libyan Guard in international waters against the Ocean Viking vessel ».
The activists from SOS Mediterranée , who had just rescued a rubber dinghy off the coast of Libya in the last few hours, including nine unaccompanied minors, denounced the " violent and deliberate attack " - complete with photos of the shell casings and windows shattered by the shots.
"The 87 survivors and the crew are safe. We are working to reconstruct the events ," they explain from the NGO ship, now heading for the Italian coast, after the Interior Ministry designated Marina di Carrara as the port of disembarkation.
Before announcing the Libyan Guard's attack, SOS Mediterranée had complained about the long distance to the destination indicated by the ministry, which is 1,300 kilometers from the rescue area: "Three and a half days of navigation," they explained, "will keep our ship away from the Mediterranean."
Solidarity with the crew of the Ocean Viking has come from Sea Watch, another NGO, which is urging the government: "What else must happen for Italy to stop funding these dangerous criminal militias?"
The day had already been marked by further controversy following the issue raised by Mediterranea Saving Humans activists, who disobeyed the Interior Ministry by taking the ten migrants rescued at sea to Trapani instead of the much more distant Genoa, as they had been instructed. "Human dignity and life," President Laura Marmorale stated today, "come before all other considerations."
(Unioneonline)