Italy orders ‘voracious’ foreign charities to stop rescuing African migrants – even as boats with 1,000 aboard send distress signals
Italy told NGOs to leave the rescues to Libya’s coastguard, which later picked up 948 survivors. But at least 10 died
Italy’s far-right Interior Minister Matteo Salvini on Monday became the first member of the country’s new populist government to visit Libya amid a worsening migrant crisis gripping Western Europe.
“Mission Libya, we’ve left!”, he said, posting a selfie on board the military plane to Libya.
Salvini’s departure came after he urged “voracious” foreign charities on Sunday to stop rescuing migrants off the North African nation, even as one group said 1,000 people were on boats in distress in the Mediterranean.
With Italy – long the frontline in Europe’s migration crisis – vowing a new hardline stance, Salvini told the aid groups to back off and let the Libyan coastguard take care of rescue operations.
The migrants in question appear to have been picked up by the Libyans later in the day – 948 African migrants on inflatable boats were rescued in several operations. But 10 bodies were also recovered, officials and a witness at a naval base said.
Spanish group Proactiva Open Arms said it had received “seven or eight” messages alerting them to boats in distress in the Mediterranean on Sunday.
“Combining all the notifications, it would add up to 1,000 people” near the coast of Libya, said spokeswoman Laura Lanuza.
But she said the Italian coastguard had told the group they “weren’t needed” and “the operation was being handled by the Libyan coastguard”.
“If the Libyan coastguard coordinates this effort, all these people will be sent back to Libya,” she said.
Late Sunday, Salvini tweeted that the Libyan coastguard had rescued most of the migrants and once again took aim at NGO ships.
“I would like to express my heartfelt thanks, as a minister and as a father, to the authorities and the Libyan coastguard,” he said.
It was not initially clear if the migrants referred to by Salivini were the same ones highlighted by Proactiva Open Arms, but the updated figures provided by Libya makes it likely.
Earlier Sunday Barcelona mayor Ada Colau had called on the Spanish government to save the migrants in distress.
“Right now more than 1,000 people adrift in seven boats and Italy intends to leave them in the hands of Libya, where people are tortured, raped and enslaved,” she said on Twitter.
She urged her own country to “help save lives” and said the migrants could would be welcomed in her city.
Salvini has repeatedly accused the charities of being complicit with human smugglers.
The Italian coastguard also sent a message to rescue boats operating in the Mediterranean Friday telling them it would no longer be coordinating rescue operations in the Libya search and rescue area.
The groups, which have been chartering boats to rescue migrants, point to the very difficult conditions for migrants in Libya as they attempt to reach Europe on the perilous Mediterranean crossing.
Rome once played an important role coordinating rescue missions but Salvini wants to drastically reduce Italy’s involvement.
Earlier this month Salvini triggered an EU-wide row when he barred the Aquarius rescue ship, chartered by French charity SOS Mediterranee, carrying around 630 migrants, from docking in Italy. Nearby Malta also turned the boat away and the ship was later accepted by Spain.
Two other ships carrying hundreds of migrants – the German NGO ship Lifeline and Danish container ship Alexander Maersk – are currently in the Mediterranean awaiting instructions on where they will be allowed to dock.
Both Italy and Malta have refused to take them in.
Salvini’s refusal to welcome the rescue ships has thrust immigration to the forefront of the EU agenda. On Sunday EU leaders held a mini-summit on the issue.
Additional reporting by Reuters