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5 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 19 FEBRUARY 2020 NEWS MATTHEW AGIUS A football fan has been tempo- rarily banned from attending matches anywhere on the island after two incidents at the Ta Qali National Stadium. Arab Taj Eddin, 22, from Pem- broke, was accused of having, on two separate occasions, be- haved abusively and used ob- scene language in public, dis- obeyed legitimate orders and breached the peace. He was also accused of inciting a group of at least ten other persons to com- mit a crime. The incidents in question took place on February 8 and 16. Inspector Wayne Camilleri al- so told magistrate Josette Dem- icoli that the man was a recid- ivist. Eddin's lawyer, Martha Mifsud, entered a plea of not guilty and requested bail. "Cer- tain things could have been said, but he's not a hardened crimi- nal," said the lawyer, pointing out the accused's young age to the magistrate. After taking note of the fact that the prosecution did not ob- ject to bail, the court released the man from arrest against a deposit of €500 and a personal guarantee of €3,500. It also prohibited Eddin from going to any football ground whilst proceedings are under- way, warning him of the serious consequences should he diso- bey this order. Football fan banned from attending matches after inciting crowd The man was accused of behaving abusively, using obscene language in public, and inciting a group of at least 10 persons to commit a crime EU foreign ministers in Brussels have agreed to launch a new mission to enforce the weapons embargo against Libya. Following on from the Libya peace con- ference in Berlin this January, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas announced that a new Libya mission would entail a "maritime component" by dispatching na- vel vessels. The EU has agreed to deploy warships to stop the flow of weapons into Libya, and to wound down the military mission that res- cues migrants and refugees from drowning in the Mediterranean. Josep Borrell, the EU's chief diplomat, said the new operation with naval ships, planes and satellites will enforce the Unit- ed Nations arms embargo on Libya. Countering critcis, especially Italy and Austria, that the operation could turn in- to a rescue mission, Borrell promised the ships would be withdrawn if they became "a pull factor" that encouraged people to attempt the risky crossing from Libya to Europe. Operation Sophia was suspended last year over Italy's protests that EU vessels were rescuing migrants in distress at sea, and allowing them disembark at Italian ports. And more recently, Austria's gov- ernment opposed the mission being re- started by arguing that sending EU ships along the Libyan coast would lead to a rise in Europe-bound migrants. The new mission will see EU ships dis- patched only to the eastern Mediterra- nean, where the Libyan National Army is based in Libya, and far away from the sea routes used by migrants around the Gov- ernment of National Accord controlled areas in the west. But with arms smugglers seeking to evade EU observers, it is unlike- ly European vessels will limit themselves to patrolling only this region. Weapons and foreign mercenaries have been pouring into the war-torn north Af- rican country, exposing Europe's weak- ness in its own neighbourhood. Over the weekend, the UN deputy special envoy for Libya, Stephanie Williams, described the arms embargo as a joke. Libya's latest cycle of violence has pitted Gen Khalifa Haftar, the leader of the Liby- an National Army, against the UN-backed government of the prime minister, Fayez al-Sarraj. Haftar is being funded and armed by the United Arab Emirates, while Russia has provided mercenaries. Sarraj is being sup- ported by Turkey, which has sent as many as 2,000 fighters from Syria. Europe's dip- lomatic clout has been hampered, as EU nations have found themselves on oppos- ing sides, with France supporting Haftar and Italy backing Sarraj. An internal EU memo, released by the London-based civil liberties group State- watch, underscores that the EU does not expect to be involved in rescuing people. "Naval assets can be deployed in the are- as most relevant to the implementation of the arms embargo, in the eastern part of the area of operation or at least 100km off the Libyan coast, where chances to con- duct rescue operations are lower," it says. Operation Active Surveillance will not monitor activties related to oil smuggling and instead of disrupting human smug- gling, it will "[support] the detection and monitoring of human smuggling and traf- ficking networks through information gathering and patrolling in accordance with international law". EU stops Operation Sophia and sends warships to stop Libya weapons trafficking