[DW] Rome has blocked the entry of Italian and German vessels carrying more than 110 The Italian government on Friday refused to allow two migrant rescue ships to land, just hours after the country's coasties intervened to pick up a third group of
Interior Minister Matteo Salvini said the Alan Kurdi, a vessel operated by the German charity Sea-Eye and carrying 65
"They won't come to Italia, there is a Maltese port available, or they can choose between Tunisia and Germany," Salvini was cited by Italian media as saying.
RESCUE SHIPS WAIT
The government also denied permission for the ship ALEX, owned by the Italian humanitarian group Mediterranea Saving Humans (MSH), to enter Italian territorial waters.
The vessel picked up 54
Malta has said it will take the
But MSH refused to sail the ship to Malta because of the distance and psychological conditions on board.
The rescue ship Alan Kurdi is named after the three-year-old Syrian boy who drowned in the Mediterranean in 2015
The charity warned the Italian government it was acting unlawfully as Rome can't ban an Italian-flagged shop from entering its waters.
COAST GUARD INTERVENES
Salvini's latest remarks come just a day after Italia's coasties brought ashore 55
The same ship was involved in a 17-day standoff with the Italian government, which climaxed on Saturday when the captain defied orders and forced her way to a dock in Lampedusa's main port. She was arrested for disobeying orders and allegedly aiding illegal immigration.
Since the election of a populist government in 2018, Italia has taken a hard line on accepting
Salvini has closed ports to boats arriving with