"The violent intervention of the Libyan Coast Guard caused a situation of mass panic on board the rubber boat in distress," Sea-Watch said in a statement. An Italian coast guard spokesman said the rescues and fatalities it counted on Friday included those reported by Sea Watch. Libyan coast guard to be trainedIt was not immediately clear if the incident would affect the planned start of training next week of up to 100 Libyan coast guard members as part of the EU mission Operation Sophia. "Next week training starts with the Libyan coast guard," Neugebauer said. The Libyan coast guard currently has three boats in Tripoli, three boats in Misrata and two boats in Zuwarah, according to the German government report.

Source: Egypt Independent October 21, 2016 19:52 UTC