(Author: Libyan Gazette Editorial Staff)
Sea-Watch, a German humanitarian group, said an armed group on board a boat labeled “Libyan Coast Guard” attacked a boat of refugees Thursday night in the Mediterranean.
Four refugees died and 15 are missing as a result of the attack which took place just off Libya’s shores, said Sea-Watch.
The armed group boarded the refugees’ boats and attacked people with clubs causing a number of the refugees to fall into the Mediterranean.
The refugees’ boat was carrying 150 people.
Sea-Watch released a statement regarding the incident saying, “The violent intervention of the Libyan Coast Guard caused a situation of mass panic on board the rubber boat in distress.”
“One tube of the rubber boat collapsed, causing the majority of the 150 people to slip into the water.”
In response to the statement, a spokesperson for the Libyan naval forces based in Tripoli said he was not aware of the attack by Libyan Coast Guard.
The German group also Tweeted that the “Libyan CG (Coast Gaurd) attack on Sea-Watch rescue operation caused multiple dead.”