D Iciotti : D His people desperately need help

The 177 migrants on board Diciotti are now in port of Sicilian city of Catania for hours, but are not allowed to leave ship. The UN refugee relief work has shared that people desperately need help. They were "abused and tortured and victims of human trafficking", UNHCR spokesperson in Italy, Carlotta Sami, tweeted. "You have right to apply for asylum. This is a fundamental right, not a crime. "

Diciotti le persone a bordo hanno subito Abusi, torture, vittime di tratta e traffico di esseri Umani. Hanno bisogno urgente di ricevere assistant e dirodeo a chiedere asilo. Un dirodeo fondamentales tale, non un crimine. Pic.twitter.com/v9viA30MC7

— Carlotta Sami (@CarlottaSami) August 21, 2018

Last Thursday, refugees were rescued in search and rescue zone of Malta and brought to ship of Italian Coast Guard. The Italians brought 13 people who urgently had to be medically cared for on Italian Mediterranean island of Lampedusa. The or migrants were to be brought to Malta by crew of Diciotti, but y refused to do so by local government.

Salvini waiting for "answers from Europe"

Finally, Italian Minister of Transport Danilo Toninelli of five-Star Movement this Monday dissolved blockade of ship and granted permission for entry to port of Catania in Sicily. There, however, Port Authority and thus Interior Minister Matteo Salvini is indirectly responsible for m by right Lega. The legal populist does not want to let people go ashore, as long as re are no "answers from Europe" – that is, promises to take people from or EU countries – as it was called by ministry's circles.

Shortly before ship was allowed to enter Sicilian port, government in Rome called on EU Commission to make a call to or Member States that are taking up rescued in sea. Italy has been lamenting for some time that brunt of migration is in European Union. Since 2014, more than 650,000 migrants have reached Italian coast.

According to Salvini, EU states have broken ir promises

In past few weeks, both Italy and Malta had negotiated several times on an ad hoc basis with or EU countries on distribution of people. Germany also participated in this. Last week, Malta had only odyssey refugee rescue ship Aquarius after a few days after several EU states had pledged to take 141 refugees aboard.

Salvini accused Germany, Portugal, Spain, Ireland and Malta of breaking ir promises. So far, only France has fulfilled its obligations and 47 migrants who went ashore in mid-July with around 400 ors in Italy. The government in Rome was also only allowed to do so after EU partners had pledged to take in 50 – or in case of Ireland – 20 migrants each.

On Twitter, Salvini again threatened to send refugees back to civil war country of Libya. "Eir Europe is starting to seriously protect its borders and to distribute refugees y have received – or we are starting to bring m back to ports from which y started," Salvini wrote. Italy has done its duty "already, and what is too much is too much".

Italy-Rescue ship» Diciotti «Allowed to Moor in Sicily Italy makes » Diciotti «into Sicilian Catania. Interior Minister Matteo Salvini, however, called for guarantees that or countries would accept migrants rescued by coast Guard ship. © Photo: Igor Petyx/DPA Date Of Update: 22 August 2018, 12:00