News Digest

Italy fights armed smugglers to rescue more than 2,000 Libyan migrants

Four smugglers brandishing Kalashnikovs threatened an Italian Coast Guard motorboat involved in one of several operations that rescued more than 2,000 migrants leaving Libyan shores on Sunday. The Italian coastguard launched a massive operation Sunday to rescue more than 2,000 migrants in difficulty between the Italian island of Lampedusa and the Libyan coast. Some 2,164 migrants coming from Libya had to be saved from a dozen boats, Italian media reported, citing the country’s emergency services.

The risk is imminent, we cannot wait any longer. Italy has national defence needs and cannot have a caliphate ruling across the shores from us.

Italian Defence Minister Roberta Pinotti

Italy has seen a surge in migrants leaving in boats from Libya as the country has sunk deeper into chaos. The Italian foreign ministry on Sunday said it was pulling out staff from its embassy in the former colony. Italian Defence Minister Roberta Pinotti said in an interview with Il Messaggero newspaper Sunday that the risk of jihadists arriving in Italy on boats carrying immigrants from Libya “could not be ruled out”. She said Italy was ready to lead a coalition from Europe and north African states to battle against the advance of jihadists in Libya. The emergency rescue came on the same day Italy said it was evacuating staff from its embassy in Libya and suspending operations there, highlighting the worsening security situation in the violence-plagued country.