Italian fishing boat reports attacks off Cyprus coast

An Italian fishing boat was attacked by at least ten Turkish boats in the north on Tuesday morning, according to Italian newspaper La Republica.

The boat, Michele Giacalone, was located around 27 miles off the Turkish coast when suddenly ten small boats started throwing stones and flares at it, before they attempted to ram into the Italian vessel, the report said.

The boat’s captain Luciano Giacalone reported the incident to the Turkish port authorities and shortly after a frigate of the Italian Navy, the Margottini, was deployed to the area to defuse the situation along with a Turkish patrol boat.

Giacalone spoke to reporters after the incident and called on the EU to clarify the situation once and for all.

“We need to know where it is safe for us to fish, this situation is getting out of control.

“This is the second attack we had to endure in the space of a week, the first one from Libyan boats and now from Turkish ones. We want to work knowing that we are safe,” he said.