Libya Bans Foreign Ships From 'Search, Rescue' Zone Near Coast

Libya established a "zone of search and rescue" in its coastal area which is prohibited for all foreign vessels except authorized ones, media reported Thursday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — According to Le Nouvel Observateur news magazine, the measure targets mainly non-governmental organizations (NGO) that claim to save illegal migrants and carry out humanitarian operations.

"No foreign vessel has the right to enter it [the zone of search and rescue] without a specific request from the Libyan authorities," Gen. Abdelhakim Bouhaliya, the commander of the Tripoli naval base, was quoted as saying by the magazine.

The route from Libya to Italy remains the most prevalent among irregular migrants. More than 95,000 migrants and refugees arrived in Italy by sea in 2017.

In July, Italy, for its part, drafted the so-called Code of Conduct, which regulates search and rescue missions, bans non-governmental organization (NGO) rescue ships from entering the Libyan waters, and requires these NGOs to refrain from transferring the people they save to other vessels and instead return to port and let migrants disembark. Aside from this, on August 2, the Italian government decided to send a naval mission to support the Libyan coastguard in preventing migrants' boats from leaving the country.