The Italian Defence Ministry on Sunday denied Libyan claims that three of its military ships have violated Libyan territorial waters during the past twenty-four hours.
“The news released this morning by Libyan sources about the presence yesterday of three Italian vessels in Libyan waters is false,” the Italian ministry said in a statement.
“All of Italy’s military ships present in the Mediterranean operate in international waters and respect the limits established by treaty,” the statement added.
The Tobruk-based government said that three Italian naval vessels had been spotted off the Libyan coast to the north of Benghazi early on Saturday morning.
Libya’s Air Force Commander Saqr Geroushi announced that Libyan warplanes had buzzed the intruders, who had then turned away.