Reuters
ON BOARD THE AQUARIUS
Italy on Monday denied safe harbour to 141 people rescued by a humanitarian ship off the coast of Libya last week, setting up another standoff with European Union allies over taking in migrants who try to cross the Mediterranean.
The Aquarius, run by Franco-German charity SOS Mediterranee and Doctors without Borders (MSF), picked up the people in two separate operations and is in international waters between Italy and Malta.
Malta said it had no legal obligation to berth the ship and Spain said its ports were not the safest destination.
Italy called on Britain to welcome the Aquarius because it was registered in Gibraltar, but the British territory on Spain's southern coast said it should go to an Italian port.
More than 650,000 migrants have come to Italy's shores since 2014, and Rome has accused its EU peers of not sharing the burden of taking in those who arrive on the bloc's southern border.
The Aquarius spent nine days at sea in June after Italy's new populist government took office and shut its ports to all humanitarian boats, calling its operators a"taxi service"and accusing them of helping people-smugglers - charges the charities deny.
"It can go where it wants, not in Italy!"far-right Interior Minister Matteo Salvini said on Twitter on Monday, mentioning France, Germany, Britain or Malta as possible destinations.
"Stop human traffickers and their accomplices,"he wrote.
Transport Minister Danilo Toninelli, who oversees ports and the coast guard, tweeted that, because of the Gibraltar connection, Britain"should assume its responsibility to safeguard the castaways".
The Gibraltar govt said in a statement the ship could no longer fly a Gibraltar flag from Aug. 20 and should revert back to the"underlying owners'flag,"which is Germany.