TRIPOLI, July 1 (Xinhua) -- Libyan navy on Sunday accused a ship belonging to a non-government Spanish organization of disrupting a patrol while rescuing hundreds of illegal immigrants at sea a week ago.
"A ship of the Spanish organization sent two rubber boats following the coast guards patrol provocatively and alarmingly, especially since the boat was overcrowded with illegal immigrants," the Libyan navy said in a statement.
"The members of the patrol feared that some of the migrants might jump from the boat after seeing the organization's boats, which might cause chaos," the statement explained.
The incident occurred last Sunday when the coast guards were rescuing 490 illegal immigrants in east of the capital Tripoli, the statement revealed.
The Libyan navy constantly accuses European non-governmental organizations of obstructing rescue operations of illegal immigrants, demanding respect and non-violation of Libyan territorial waters.
In May 2017, Libyan navy accused the German non-government organization Sea-Watch of obstructing and intercepting a patrol boat of the Libyan coast guards carrying 500 migrants who had been rescued off the coast of the city of Sabratha, west of Tripoli.
Sea-Watch is one of the four international non-government organizations providing relief and humanitarian aid off the coast of Libya.
Libya is a preferred point of departure for illegal immigrants who want to cross the Mediterranean towards Europe, due to the state of insecurity and chaos.
