The EU's external border agency Frontex has come under fire for an incident in June, when, according to its own reporting, it shared the location of an overcrowded migrant boat with Libya's coast guard in order to coordinate rescue efforts.

The partly deflated boat was then reportedly approached by Libyan officials and run over.

No one was killed in the incident, which however put the lives of all 27 passengers, including children, seriously at risk at the time.

Some of the migrants were thrown into the water, and some of the people who were pulled onto the coast guard ship were beaten by Libyan officials, according to the Frontex report.

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Libyan boat rams migrant vessel

Upon learning of the migrant boat's distress, Frontex said it issued a Mayday signal across the maritime region to secure help.

When the message reached the Libyan rescue center, further details reportedly were sent over by email to help send any vessel to the coordinates of the migrant boat; however, no ships were reported in the area at the time.

The Libyan coast guard vessel reportedly arrived about 90 minutes later, appearing to attack the small boat and thus put all lives in danger.

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Disagreement over Frontex' cooperation with Libya

According to internal findings by the Frontex investigation into this incident and similar events, there is disagreement within the organization on sharing information with Libya's coast guard.

There have been a series of events in the Mediterranean since last year, during which Libyan officials were repeatedly seen using aggressive — and even potentially deadly — methods to repel rescue operations and intercept migrants themselves.

In 2025, Libya's coast guard attacked civilian rescue boats on several occasions, even firing bullets at NGO vessels like Ocean Viking, operated by the organization SOS Mediterranée.

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Complex situation in Libya

Frontex does not proactively rescue migrants at sea but helps other vessels with intelligence and information to carry out their duties to save lives. The EU agency has several ships monitoring Mediterranean waters, and also employs drones and other unmanned aircraft to assist with rescue missions and surveillance.

One of the many partners that Frontex works with is Libya's coast guard; when a migrant boat runs into distress in Libyan waters, the EU's external border agency contacts Libyan authorities to coordinate rescues.

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The situation in Libya is complex. Since the overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, Libya has been split between two rival governments, one claiming control over the east and one over the west, and operating alongside a network of affilliated militias, some more and some less official. 

The internationally recognized government in Tripoli communicates with EU officials on a regular basis to fine-tune its mandate to intercept migrants as part of the agreement between the two parties. 

It is more difficult to hold the de-facto rival government in Tobruk, eastern Libya accountable, because it is not officially recognized. Many instances of aggression at sea are attributed to authorities or militias operating under the leadership of that region. However, EU officials and individual EU countries, namely Italy, have also had contact with authorities in the east at times over the past 15 years, although an official delegation from the EU was thrown out of the east most recently.

Most migrant boats are now being launched into the sea from the areas surrounding Tobruk, information about the exact operations of these naval officials and militias is scarce and often incomplete.

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Frontex obliged to communicate with Libyans

Frontex has responded to the latest developments saying that its internal investigation shows that "the botched rescue on June 19, amounted to a violation of the right to life," citing article six of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

Frontex director Hans Leijtens said that Libyan forces had acted in direct violation of that article.

Frontex' fundamental rights officer meanwhile noted that "the standard is not simply whether the migrants were ultimately rescued, but if the operation was planned and executed to minimize risks to human life," leaving at least some responsibility for the incident with Frontex itself.

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Frontex spokesperson Krzysztof Borowski told InfoMigrants that informing Libyan authorities about migrant rescues is "a legal obligation rather than a choice," explaining what that mandate means in practise:

"Under the international law of the sea, an emergency in any search and rescue region has to be reported to that region's coordination center," he said, adding that in addition to Libyan officials, their counterparts in Italy and Malta are also informed. 

"When people's lives are in danger at sea, saving them comes first," Borowski told InfoMigrants.

"We help save lives, but we don't run rescues. Coordinating the response is a job for the national Rescue Coordination Center responsible for that area of sea."

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