Skip to main content

450 migrants stranded at sea as Italy, Malta dig heels in


© AFP | Late on Thursday, an Italian coastguard vessel carrying 67 migrants was allowed to dock in Sicily

Another 450 migrants on board two military vessels were stranded at sea on Saturday as Italy and Malta locked horns over whose responsibility it was to offer them safe harbour.

The boats, which are currently in Italian waters, had initially set sail from Libya in a single wooden vessel which was identified early Friday while passing through waters under Malta's jurisdiction.

But Italy's far-right Interior Minister Matteo Salvini, who has authority over the country's ports, on Friday refused to let them dock in his latest show of intransigence over migrants stranded at sea.

And on Saturday, as those on board were transferred to two other vessels, he insisted the boats be instructed to "head south, to Libya or Malta".

"We need an act of justice, of respect and of courage to fight against these human traffickers and generate a European intervention," he said in talks with Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte, his remarks carried by Italian news agencies. 

In an exchange of messages, emails and phonecalls on Friday, Rome had tried to push Valetta to take responsibility for those on board the wooden boat. 

But Malta said the ship was much closer to the Italian island of Lampedusa, insisting that those on board only wanted to reach Italy. 

On Saturday morning, they were transferred to two military vessels but where the vessels will dock remains unclear. 

Eight women and children were taken to Lampedusa for medical treatment. 

The new standoff kicked in just hours after 67 migrants were allowed to disembark from an Italian coast guard ship in Sicily late on Thursday. 

Salvini, who took office when Italy's new populist government came to power on June 1, wants to block any further migrant arrivals by boat and has banned charity rescue ships from docking in Italian ports, accusing them of aiding human traffickers.

Last month, the French rescue ship Aquarius and the German boat Lifeline, who between them were carrying hundreds of migrants, were forced to divert to Spain and Malta respectively after Italy turned them away. 

Italy, Greece and Spain have been on the front line of the migrant crisis, with Europe deeply divided over how to share the burden of the massive influx of people seeking to create a new life in Europe.

News Source #France24



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh: Dera Sacha Sauda spiritual leader found guilty of raping female followers

Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh at a news conference to launch the score for his film 'MSG-2 The Messenger' in Mumbai  AFP/Getty Images A popular Indian actor and spiritual leader, Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, has been convicted of raping his followers following a high profile trial. Singh was found guilty of raping two women  in a case dating back to 2002  at the headquarters of his Dera Sacha Sauda group in the town of Sirsa. The bearded guru, who had denied the charges, had arrived for the hearing with a 100-vehicle convoy that left his ashram early on Friday.  Some 15,000 police and soldiers were deployed in Panchkula, the town where his trial took place, for fear of violence. Tens of thousands of his devotees had travelled there to protest his innocence, according to reports, while internet and phone services were throttled in a bid to forestall unrest. In a televised appeal, Singh asked his supporters not to resort to violence, but some said they would not t...
Post a Comment
Read more

Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar of the Libyan National Army (LNA) threatens to attack Italian vessels in Libyan waters unlikely to materialise, but risks support mission

   the Italian parliament approved legislation allowing Italian military vessels to patrol Libyan waters in order to stem the flow of migrants entering Italy. This is the latest in a series of initiatives and proposals by the Italian government to block the Mediterranean migrant route, including the recent introduction of a code of conduct curtailing the flexibility of aid groups and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to operate rescue vessels in the Mediterranean. In response to the latest measure to deploy the Italian navy, Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar of the Libyan National Army (LNA) – a militia associated with the Tobruk-based government in eastern Libya – warned that any non-commercial vessel entering Libyan waters without prior authorisation would be attacked.
Post a Comment
Read more

Somali refugee arrested over pirate attack on Italian oil tanker in 2011

The ransom was reportedly paid to al-Shabaab, a Somali terrorist gang   CREDIT:  AFP Italian police have arrested a 24-year-old Somali asylum seeker on charges of being one of a gang of jihadist pirates who seized an Italian oil tanker in the Persian Gulf in 2011.   The tanker and its crew were held hostage for 10 months until a reported $11 million ransom was paid. Mohammed Farah was caught by Carabinieri special force police officers after he applied for asylum as a refugee in the Sicilian town of Caltanissetta, police said. Officers used fingerprint records to identify him as one of 50 alleged pirates  who stormed the Savina Caylyn tanker  on February 8, 2011, using rocket-propelled grenades and automatic weapons. The ransom was reportedly paid to  al-Shabaab, a Somali terrorist gang , after the crew of five Italians and 17 Indians were tortured and mistreated during their 10-month ordeal. Police found fingerprints on the tanker after its...
Post a Comment
Read more