Italian fishing boats seized by Libyan vessel
Two Italian fishing vessels were detained and escorted to Benghazi by a Libyan motorboat that fired several shots, the mayor of the vessels' Sicilian home port said on Sunday, Reuters reports.
"The boats were approached by a Libyan vessel. They were obliged to sail to the port of Benghazi after arms were used," Nicolo Cristaldi, mayor of Mazara del Vallo in south-western Sicily, told SkyTG24 television.
He said the captain of one of the boats had reported the incident and said around 10 shots were fired at the boats, although there had been no injuries.
It was not clear who was in charge of the Libyan boat, but the availability of arms remains a problem for Libya's new rulers as they try to restore order after the civil war that toppled Muammar Gaddafi last year.
Cristaldi said 14 Italian and Tunisian crew members were aboard the two vessels.
