Report: Libyan coast guard shot at and boarded rescue ship

Libyan coast guards fired shots and boarded a humanitarian ship in the Mediterranean today demanding that the refugees and migrants on board be handed over to them, a spokesman for the Mission Lifeline charity said.

“The Libyan man said: ‘This is our territory’,” said Axel Steier, a spokesman for the German-based charity that performed its first rescues today.

“After a while, they fired shots,” he said. No one was wounded.

Afterward two Libyans boarded the ship to try to persuade them to hand over some 70 refugees and migrants they had just taken off a wooden boat in international waters.

“We told them we don’t return migrants to Libya. After a while, they gave up,” Steier said. The two men spent about 15 minutes on board, he said.

Read: More than 100 migrants missing after boat sinks off Libya coast

A Libyan coast guard spokesman in Tripoli declined to comment, saying he was seeking information. Italy’s coast guard, which coordinates rescues, did not respond to repeated telephone calls.

It was the latest incident reported between the Libyan coast guard and humanitarian rescue ships operating off North Africa. Financed, trained and equipped by Italy, the Tripoli-based coast guard is intercepting a growing number of refugee and migrant boats.