GIUSEPPE GAIA

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Two Italian fishing boats attacked by Tunisian boat

Two Italian fishing boats from Mazara del Vallo - the "Aliseo" and "Anna Madre" - were attacked by a boat off Zarzis, in international waters near the border between Libya and Tunisia in the night of Aug 3, 2017. Two people on the bow started to fire at the "Anna Madre" with machine guns at 7 p.m. A helicopter which took off from an Italian Navy vessel in the area and a Tunisian military vessel intervened, persuading the vessel to back off. The vessel belongs to Tunisian Customs authorities. The incident owas allegedly connected to the so-called local 'fishing war' amid a climate of tension in the Mediterranean over the Italian mission in Libya to confront the ongoing migrant crisis. The attack, which was probably carried out by a Tunisian cutter that allegedly wanted to force the two Italian vessels to dock at a Tunisian port to check on its fishing activity. The shots were allegedly fired as a warning. No Tunisian vessels intervened to defend the Sicilian boats, which resumed their activity in the morning of Aug 3 south of Lampedusa. Port authorities in Mazara del Vallo said were in close contact with the "Aliseo" and "Anna Madre".