Frontex drone coordinated Libyan interception of 65 migrants- Sea-Watch

Sea-Watch says a Frontex-operated drone coordinated with the Libyan coast guard during the interception of a rubber boat carrying about 65 people in distress in the central Mediterranean.

In a post on X, the German-based sea rescue organisation said its Seabird aircraft was present when the boat was intercepted and the people on board were subsequently taken back to Libya.

According to Sea-Watch, the drone, identified as Falcon01, first issued a Mayday relay after locating the boat before providing its position to the Libyan coast guard.

“I managed to give [the Libyan coast guard] the position of the rubber boat,” Sea-Watch quoted the drone operator as saying in a radio communication.

The organisation said the incident raised concerns about the role of Frontex-operated aerial surveillance in migrant interceptions in the central Mediterranean.

Sea-Watch said it had observed Falcon01 operating over the central Mediterranean since March and alleged that the drone was not publicly trackable. It also said the aircraft was built by Leonardo, an Italian defence and aerospace company.

The organisation further linked the interception to Italy’s cooperation with the Libyan authorities under the 2017 Italy-Libya Memorandum of Understanding.

Sea-Watch alleged that Italy has provided Libyan authorities with boats, training and financial support under the arrangement, with estimates putting the overall assistance at more than €1 billion.

The group accused the Libyan forces involved in interceptions of taking migrants back to detention, where it said they face abuses including torture and extortion.

Sea-Watch characterised the incident as part of a wider system involving European surveillance technology, Frontex and Libyan forces in the interception and return of migrants attempting to cross the Mediterranean.

The claims about the specific interception and the subsequent treatment of the people involved were made by Sea-Watch in its post and were not independently verified in the statement.