The Italian coast guard announced today, Wednesday, that the bodies of two migrants were found and more than 1,150 migrants were rescued off the coast of Sicily, at a time when the new government in Rome threatened to prevent two migrant rescue ships operated by charities from entering the territorial waters.
The coast guard said it had rescued 663 people and recovered two bodies from a boat about 60 miles from Sicily, and another 494 had been rescued from another fishing boat closer to the island.
The operation was carried out by the Coast Guard, the Financial Police Unit and a Spanish ship working for the European Border and Coast Guard Agency.
At the same time, it appears that the Italian authorities intend to prevent the disembarkation of about 380 migrants on board two ships operated by charitable organizations.
The Italian Ministry of the Interior said, in a statement, that the actions of the two ships (Humanity 1 and Ocean Viking), which seek to dock in Italy or Malta, are "not in line" with European and Italian rules on security, border control or the fight against illegal immigration.
Yesterday, Tuesday, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni confirmed her government's desire to "stop illegal immigration" (from Africa), stressing that the time has come to prevent smugglers from being "the ones who decide who enters" Italy.
Yesterday, Alarm Phone, a non-governmental organization that runs a hotline for migrants in difficulty, alerted that it believed two ships carrying more than 1,300 people had encountered problems during transit, confirming that it had received a call for help from a "large wooden boat". Leave Tobruk, Libya.
Italy's Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi has said it "may prevent" humanitarian ships from bringing rescued migrants to Italy, reviving a controversial 2019 policy.
Piantedosi has close ties with new Transport Minister Matteo Salvini, a Meloni ally, and they may unite to stop rescue charities that the right sees as a "pull factor" for migrants.
Yesterday, the new right-wing government in Italy won the confidence of the House of Representatives, after its president, Georgia Meloni, presented a public policy speech that included her positions on basic issues, such as the relationship with Europe, the war in Ukraine and immigration.