Italy’s Defence Minister Roberta Pinotti said that our neighbour aims to stop participation in NATO counter piracy missions in order to focus on stability in the Mediterranean.
The declaration was made before the Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defence of the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate.
She was speaking in the wake of the terrorist attack in Tunisia which left 21 people dead last week.
The minister also mentioned "the deteriorating situation in Libya" and said Italy "is poised to play an important role" and contribute "any initiative to launch the international community" to achieve stability and peace in the country.
She said that piracy attacks in the world had decreased, but the situation in North Africa in terms of terrorism was getting worse. She also said that there was less of a need of military and navy presence in the straits of Somalia because private shipping had beefed up its own security measures to fend off pirate attacks.
Italy said that it will be deploying a heavier navy presence in the Mediterranean with the "aim of protecting national interests, exposed to increasing risks identified by the presence of extremist organisations and ensure consistent levels of maritime safety”.
Italy has strengthened its military presence in the Mediterranean Sea, and this will of course have the knock-on effect of improving Malta’s security situation. It is clear that terrorists in Libya are now using migrants as a ‘weapon’ by sending them over in waves to overwhelm southern European nations.
It will be interesting to see whether Malta will be approached by Italy to assist in the mission, and it will also be interesting to see whether other European nations, such as France, will also offer assets or forces.
Reports are also surfacing in Libya which claim that the Benghazi based militia Ansar al-Sharia – which claimed responsibility for an attack on the US consulate – was preparing to pledge its allegiance to Islamic State. This would be a significant development in the rise of terror in North Africa. The connection between ISIS and Ansar al-Sharia began months ago after its leader Mohammad al-Zahawi was killed in late 2014. At the time many of the group’s members defected to ISIS. The announcement would follow the recent addition of Boko Haram to the ISIS network. Last year ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi took on oaths of fealty from groups in Egypt, Libya, Yemen and Algeria. This year, fighters in Afghanistan and Pakistan said they recognized Baghdadi’s authority.
The group is a heavily armed one which holds a lot of sway in the East of Libya and their pooled resources could serve to attract more recruits to its ranks. The UN, meanwhile, has said that it is confident that Libya’s rival Tripoli and Tobruk administrations will agree on a unity government in the next few days.
However when one considers that one faction bombed the other while they were at the discussion table, it does not seem too hopeful that some groundbreaking peace deal is reached.