The Italian Coast Guard's
Diciotti ship carrying 67 rescued asylum seekers will arrive in
Trapani on Wednesday, well-informed sources have said.
The migrants were rescued off Libya by a private Italian
vessel, the Vos Thalassa, and then transferred to the coast
guard ship in a case that has caused tension within the
government.
The asylum seekers were transferred because the safety of the
crew of the Vos Thalassa endangered by the conduct of some
migrants, Transport Minister Danilo Toninelli said.
Interior Minister and Deputy Premier Matteo Salvini is
unhappy that Italian vessels got involved in the rescue,
anticipating an intervention by the Libyan Coast Guard.
Salvini met Premier Giuseppe Conte on Wednesday and
afterwards he said he had reached a "common line" with the head
of government.
But he also warned that: "I won't authorise the disembarkment
until I have guarantees that the delinquents who hijacked a ship
with violence will spend some time in jail and then be taken
back to their own countries".
League leader Salvini has spearheaded the hardline stance on
migrants of the new coalition government that has seen NGO-run
migrant rescue ships denied access to Italian ports.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © Copyright ANSA
