Italy to Secure Libya’s Southern Border

Migrants ride in a boat after they were rescued by Libyan coastguard off the coast of Gharaboli, east of Tripoli, Libya July 8, 2017. REUTERS
Migrants ride in a boat after they were rescued by Libyan coastguard off the coast of Gharaboli, east of Tripoli, Libya July 8, 2017. REUTERS
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Italy to Secure Libya’s Southern Border

Migrants ride in a boat after they were rescued by Libyan coastguard off the coast of Gharaboli, east of Tripoli, Libya July 8, 2017. REUTERS
Migrants ride in a boat after they were rescued by Libyan coastguard off the coast of Gharaboli, east of Tripoli, Libya July 8, 2017. REUTERS

Italy has revealed a plan to halt illegal migration to Libya by securing its southern border.

Libyan Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah on Wednesday met with Italian Interior Minister Luciana Lamorgese in Libya's capital Tripoli.

Lamorgese said that Rome will intensify its financial commitment to boost rural development to stabilize southern Libya affected by intense migration flows.

The Italian minister confirmed on Friday her country's desire to swiftly develop the project implemented by the Interior Ministry on the southern Libyan border, in cooperation with the International Organization for Migration.

Bilateral talks last month between President of the Presidential Council Muhammad Al-Menfi and Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune touched on the security cooperation in the south, where insurgent African groups operate.

Ali Amilmedy, who resides in Sabha and works as a lawyer, said that the Libyan south has been oppressed for years. It was deprived of services and witnessed a shortage of liquidity and a scarcity of fuels.

The smuggling of illegal migrants to Europe continues through the Mediterranean.

The Chief of Staff of the Libyan Naval Forces said that up to 96 migrants from diverse African nationalities were rescued on their way to Europe.

In another context, the Minister of Economy and Trade, Mohamed Hwej, met with Egyptian Charge d’Affaires Tamer Moustafa in the presence of Libyan officials from the General Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry and the Department of International Cooperation in the Ministry.

The meeting aims to coordinate the meetings of the Higher Joint Egyptian-Libyan Committee that are scheduled to convene soon.



Yemen Warns of Environmental Disaster as Oil Tanker Faces Explosion

Sounion oil tanker (Reuters)
Sounion oil tanker (Reuters)
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Yemen Warns of Environmental Disaster as Oil Tanker Faces Explosion

Sounion oil tanker (Reuters)
Sounion oil tanker (Reuters)

The Yemeni government has issued a warning about a looming environmental disaster in the Red Sea, where the Greek oil tanker “Sounion” is at risk of exploding or sinking due to ongoing fires.
The fires started after the Iranian-backed Houthi militants attacked the tanker last Wednesday, as part of their escalating maritime assaults, claiming to support Palestinians in Gaza.
The warning coincides with reports from the European maritime mission (ASPIDES), which noted that the fires on the tanker, carrying around one million barrels of oil, are still burning in an area between Yemen and Eritrea in the southern Red Sea.
ASPIDES announced on Monday via platform X that fires have been burning on the “Sounion” tanker since last Friday, with no signs of an oil spill yet.
The mission also shared images on Sunday showing flames and thick smoke rising from at least five spots on the ship’s deck, including part of its upper structure.
The tanker was attacked by Houthi militants on August 21, causing its engines to fail and leaving it adrift. A French warship from ASPIDES evacuated the 29 crew members, mostly Filipinos, to Djibouti.
Houthi-released footage shows the group boarding the tanker, placing explosives near the tank openings, and detonating them remotely, which ignited the fires. There are concerns that the tanker could sink or explode, leading to a major oil spill.
Yemeni Information Minister Muammar Al-Eryani warned of the looming environmental disaster after revealing that the attack on Sounion was the ninth such strike on oil tankers in the Red Sea since last November.
The tanker is carrying 150,000 tons of crude oil.
Al-Eryani said the Houthi attacks caused the tanker to drift, disabled its engines, and led to the evacuation of its crew, leaving the vessel at risk of sinking or exploding just 85 nautical miles from Yeman’s Hodeidah port city.
He accused Houthis of “systematic terrorism” that could trigger an unprecedented environmental, economic, and humanitarian crisis.