Despite Italy’s hard-line Interior Minister who repeatedly refused to let ships carrying migrants enter Italian waters, the picking up refugees at the sea is continuing. As ABC reports, the Italian rescue ship saved about 100 migrants early on Wednesday.
Mediterranea Charity, an Italian aid group, tweeted about rescuing 100 migrants. A rubber overcrowded boat carried on 8 pregnant women and 22 children among others. After taking migrants on the board, the charity organization asked the Sicilian authorities to provide a safe port for them.
“Luckily we arrived in time to rescue them,” wrote on Medditerania after the successful rescue operation. The rubber boat was drifting and already partly deflated, the rescuers said.
For Matteo Salvini, it was the latest in a string of standoffs over migrant rescues. This week, Italy’s political parties are locked in fraught negotiations in a bid to form a new coalition after the populist government collapsed earlier this month.
Italy’s Matteo Salvini refuses to let migrant ships enter Italian waters
In response to the group’s request, Italy’s maritime authorities said they should turn to Libyan authorities. The Mediterranea said it is asking for an alternative solution, as Libya is not considered safe.
Matteo Salvini, Italy’s Interior Minister, is known for his hard-line migrant policy. The top official has repeatedly refused to let ships carrying migrants enter Italian waters, prompting a string of standoffs with NGOs active in the Mediterranean.
