(ANSA) - Rome, January 21 - Deputy Premier and Interior Minister Matteo Salvini has said the government aims to continue its policy of refusing access to Italian ports to vessels carrying migrants rescued in the Mediterranean. "It is necessary to put the human traffickers in jail," League leader Salvini in a live broadcast on Facebook on Sunday.
"They must know that the Italian ports are closed - it is the only way to save human lives.
"Last year fewer migrants arrived and there were fewer deaths".
The closed-ports policy has come under renewed criticism after 117 people were reported missing following the sinking of a dinghy carrying migrants near Libya last week.
Closing ports saves lives says Salvini
Fewer migrant arrivals means fewer deaths says interior minister