Italy sends a barge to support Tunisia's efforts to deal with the sinking oil tanker

Tunisian media reported, on Saturday, that Italy sent a specialized barge to support efforts to deal with the sinking of the fuel tanker XELO, which sank miles away from the Tunisian port of Gabes.

According to the Tunisian Mosaique website, the Italian initiative came as a result of talks held by Tunisian Foreign Minister Othman Al-Jarandi with Italian officials, as well as the efforts of the Tunisian ambassador to Italy and the Italian ambassador to Tunisia.

The Italian yesterday is expected to arrive soon at the scene of the accident to support the work of the Tunisian teams in difficult climatic conditions that made the work of the rescue teams difficult, especially the divers charged with identifying damage and providing information to set a plan to retrieve the sunken ship without environmental damage.

Yesterday evening, Saturday, a commercial cargo ship carrying 750 tons of fuel sank in the Gulf of Gabes, after it was exposed to a marine accident due to bad weather.

The ship's crew, which includes 7 people of different nationalities, was rescued and taken to hospital and then accommodated in a hotel while they are "in normal condition".

The ship was coming from the Egyptian port of Damietta and heading to Malta, and on Friday evening, it asked the Tunisian authorities to enable it to enter the country's territorial waters.

Source: "Mosaic"

France: The battle against terrorism in the Sahel must be led by African armies

The French Chief of Staff confirmed that his country will complete the withdrawal of its "Barkhane" force, which is anti-militants, from Mali "at the end of the summer".

French Chief of Staff Thierry Burkhard confirmed, during an official visit to Gabon, that his country will complete the withdrawal of its anti-militant "Barkhane" force from Mali "at the end of the summer."

The French military presence in Mali is no longer desirable since the military junta took power, and while France wants to "reposition" its military presence in the Sahel region, General Burkhard stressed on Friday evening that "the battle against terrorism must be led primarily by African armies."

Question: Does the withdrawal of the Barkhane force constitute a void in Mali and abroad, or has the Malian forces succeeded in filling the gap?

A: We have not disengaged yet, we are in the process of repositioning outside Mali.

We have not yet sifted sites. Our operations are focused on supporting disengagement and logistical moves. We are still engaged in the fight against terrorist groups.

Last winter, we left all our positions in the north, in Tessalit, Kidal and Timbuktu, and yet the situation remains stable, because we are not the only ones moving there. The Malian Armed Forces (Fama) are present and there is the United Nations Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) and the European Union Training Mission, which constitutes an important network.

Malians should, of course, compensate for Barkhane's withdrawal and find ways to ensure the security of the areas we are leaving. The disengagement is taking place in cooperation with the Malian forces.

I have given clear instructions to leave Mali in an orderly and safe manner while maintaining a good relationship with the Malian forces.

My financial counterpart gave similar orders to his units. We will leave Gossi (center) in coordination with the Malian forces. The fight against terrorism continues for us and the armies of the Sahel.

The process of disengagement is complex from a security and logistical point of view, and its progress depends on many factors. There are still operations against terrorist groups in Mali. About 10 days ago, “We neutralized about thirty jihadists belonging to the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara.

The repositioning of Barkhane's force outside Mali will end at the end of the summer."

Q: How do you see the development of the French military presence in Niger?

A: I see it in the way that the Nigerian authorities will determine.

The intensity and level of compliance will be determined by the Nigerian authorities. We are in the process of evaluating, and we have informed her that we are ready to continue to support her.

President Muhammad Bazoum has made his position clear, it is they who will decide on this issue. Either they ask us to stay engaged at the same level or they want to increase it, or they continue in different ways. They will determine the indicator, not us. The fight against terrorism must be led in the first place by the African armies, otherwise there will be no solution."

Q: Will the Barkhane force presence in Chad be reinforced?

A: There may be a boost in terms of redeployment, particularly with the redeployment of our air capabilities. France certainly supports Chad in the fight against terrorism.

Chad is a very serious and brave ally, a country that has agreed to deploy forces outside its borders and participate in the MINUSMA force. But it is also a country under pressure and threats from multiple directions, in the north with internal threats to some extent, in the south with Lake Chad and the threat of militants, and with the Central African Republic, which is no longer under real control.

Chad suffers to some extent due to the chaos in some neighboring countries. However, all this appears to be under control now to an acceptable extent."

Spanish police confiscate Europe's largest cannabis plantation

Spanish police announced on Wednesday the arrest of 3 people suspected of organizing the largest cannabis plantation in Europe dedicated to drug smuggling.

During the special operation, 415,000 marijuana plants were confiscated, with a value of up to 100 million euros.

Investigators believe the cannabis plants were sent to Switzerland and Italy to be converted into cannabidiol, the production of which is illegal in Spain.

Source: AP