In 2020, seven north African men boarded a container in the Serbian town of Šid, hoping they would emerge a few days later in Milan. Last February, Bulgarian authorities found 18 people dead in an abandoned truck near the village of Lokorsko, 12 miles (20km) north-east of Sofia. In 2019, a merchant ship was hijacked by people it had rescued off north Africa, when it became clear that it planned to take them back to Libya, where asylum seekers face trafficking, kidnap, torture and rape. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. For more information see our Privacy Policy. Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. The cargo ship was eventually anchored just outside the port of Naples, according to the MarineTraffic ship tracking website, and there was a heavy police presence at the port, local media reported.Įvery day, thousands of people are pushed to take ever more hazardous routes to avoid fierce violence from security forces in Balkan states and pullbacks from the Libyan coastguard in the central Mediterranean. “The ship has now been recaptured and the entire 22-man crew of the Turkish ship is safe,” the ministry said.
Two navy helicopters as well as coastguard and financial police boats were involved in the operation, the Italian ministry said. Let’s hope it ends as quickly as possible without consequences for anyone.”Īfter a nearly seven-hour military operation, special forces regained control of the ship, reportedly arresting the alleged hijackers, some of whom had barricaded themselves in the depths of the hold. “The San Marco battalion had to intervene.”Ĭrosetto added: “What is known about the hijackers is that they are illegal immigrants. “An operation is under way on a vessel boarded by pirates … The stowaways were using what seem to be weapons like daggers” to threaten the crew, Italy’s defence minister, Guido Crosetto, told reporters. Photograph: Italian Defense Press Office/EPA Italian special forces in action on the Galata Seaways.
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