ROME (Reuters) – A group of 18 sailors who were seized by Libyan patrol boats in September while fishing in the Mediterranean, have been freed by authorities in eastern Libya, Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio said on Thursday.
The prolonged imprisonment of the group had become a political embarrassment for Italy’s government, with critics accusing ministers of failing to stand up to Khalifa Haftar, the military commander who holds sway in eastern Libya.
The sailors, including Italian and Tunisian nationals, were accused of operating in Libya’s territorial waters. Italy disputed this.
“Our sailors are free,” Di Maio said in a post on Facebook shortly after he and Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte flew to Benghazi for talks with Haftar.
(Reporting by Crispian Balmer; Editing by Gavin Jones)
