“We cannot but begin this report with a common message of condolences and solidarity to the families” of the two Italians killed in Libya, Salvatore Failla and Fausto Piano, said Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni before the Senate that paid tribute to the memory of the two compatriots with unanimous applause. Gentiloni reported that as to the kidnapping “there is no evidence that it may be connected to Daesh groups in Libya. No claims were received. The most likely hypothesis is that it may involve a pro-Islamic criminal gang operating between Mellita, Zuwara and Sabrata.” He added, “on the basis of emerging evidence, the four Italians were kept captives by the same people throughout the entire duration of the seizure. The place of imprisonment was changed only once (before March 2). The group of kidnappers had hinted that the hostages had been separated or handed over to other groups, a fact which has turned out to be untrue. During the months of the kidnapping our intelligence has gathered information from various sources and from technical investigations, but was not able reliably pinpoint reliably the exact places of detention.” The Minister then clarified that “no ransom was ever paid.”
As for the political situation in the country, Gentiloni repeated that the path leading to a national unity government is “fragile”, but that “however fragile, it remains the only workable way forward”.
No to unnecessary and dangerous adventures
Italy is working “to respond to any security requests coming from the Libyan government, nothing more nothing less, in accordance with the Constitution and only after the green light from (the Italian) Parliament”. From Isis’s terrorist threats in Libya “Italy has to defend itself. And indeed Italy will defend itself as envisaged by Article 52 of our Constitution. After all this is the reason why the Italian parliament decided last December that in some cases, intelligence operations could require safety conditions obtained thanks to the support of military units. As to these operations, the Parliament will be kept updated through the COPASIR”.
