Two more migrants have been evacuated from a German rescue ship overnight for medical reasons, leaving 40 passengers who were saved off Libya 16 days ago still blocked offshore by Italy’s refusal to let them disembark.
Sea-Watch 3 captain Carola Rackete has twice defied direct orders from port authorities, first not to enter Italian waters and second in her attempted approach to the port of Lampedusa, Italy’s southernmost island. Law enforcement who boarded the ship Thursday evening asked for patience, saying a resolution appeared near, but none came overnight.
It is the latest stand-off between Italy’s hard-line interior minister and humanitarian rescue ships that the populist government accuses of aiding migrant traffickers. The EU has urged Italy to bring the migrants to land.