The Italian Foreign Minister, Luigi Di Maio said that the Libyan Coast Guard firing warning shots at shoulder level is totally unacceptable, regardless of whether Italian fishing boats passed beyond international waters.

“Although fishing off forbidden waters is dangerous, as was advised to the Italian fishermen for several months, and in some cases even years, we have been strongly advising them not to cross over onto into Libyan territorial waters, firmly reminding them of the dangerous political situation in the country.” Di Maio told Italian media.

He pointed out that there is a helicopter, attached to the Italian navy, which is prepared to intervene, however, this does not give any rights to Italy to perform fishing in Libyan territorial waters.

The spokesman for the Libyan Naval Staff, on Thursday, denied that the Libyan Coast Guard fired directly at Italian fishing boats, which entered Libyan territorial waters, pointing out that warning shots were fired in the air, merely by way of a warning.