Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni
told the Senate in a briefing on Wednesday that "no ransom was
paid" for four Italian hostages kidnapped in Libya last summer.
Two of the four were killed last week while the others
managed to free themselves and are back in Italy.
Gentiloni said there was no evidence that Islamist terror
group ISIS was involved in the abduction. "The most probable
hypothesis is that a pro-Islamist criminal group operating
between Mellitah, Zuwara e Sabratha (was behind the
kidnapping)," he said.
The minister also played down reports Italy was gearing up
to take part in an international mission to combat ISIS in
chaos-hit Libya. He pledged instead that Italy would only be
involved in a military mission upon request by "a legitimate
government" in the North African country, pending Italian
parliament approval.
The Italian government would not "let itself get dragged
into pointless adventures that threaten national security," he
said.
Rather, Italy is working with its allies to help the Tobruk
parliament back a Libyan national unity government.
"In the next few days in a meeting with the...United
States, Germany, Britain, France and the EU we'll see if there
is an agreement...to enable the majority (of the Tobruk
parliament) to express itself" towards the legitimization of a
national unity government despite threats and boycotts from
extremists, Gentiloni said.
In related news, Sidikj Al-Sour, the director of the
investigations office of the Tripoli prosecution department,
told ANSA that the bodies of the two dead hostages will be
returned to Italy on Wednesday, after autopsies to recover any
bullets.
"Extracting the bullet is important because it has
characteristics that will determine what kind of weapon caused
the death," he said.
Also on Wednesday, Failla's widow said she had been
contacted by the her husband's captors. "One of the kidnappers
called and spoke to me in Italian," Rosalba Failla said.
Daughter Erica, 23, said "my father was a good person. They
didn't help us bring him home. They told us to keep quiet, not
to make a fuss, not to answer the kidnappers' questions... We
did what we were told, and it was no use".
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