ROME: Italy impounded a rescue ship operated by a German NGO on Wednesday, the third charity boat sequestered this week under tough new migration rules introduced by the country’s right-wing government.
The temporary seizure of the three vessels, all held at port after completing rescue operations in the central Mediterranean, comes as migrant arrivals to Italy continued to soar despite efforts by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni to halt the flow.
Germany’s Sea Eye 4 boat was detained after bringing 114 migrants to the southern port of Salerno, and told it could not put to sea for 20 days. It was also fined almost 3,000 euros ($3,240), the Sea Eye group said in a statement.
It was the second time the boat has been impounded this year.
A second charity ship, Aurora, operated by Germany’s Sea Watch, was seized on Monday after bringing 76 migrants to the island of Lampedusa, while the Spanish rescue vessel Open Arms was impounded on Tuesday in the Tuscan port of Carrara after rescuing 195 people.
“(This) is a politically motivated attack on humanitarian action, and one that will cost lives,” said Arnaud Banos, head of mission on Sea-Eye 4.
There was no immediate comment from the Italian Coast Guard.
A law approved by Italy’s parliament in February requires charity-run ships to sail to port immediately after a rescue, preventing them from organizing multiple operations at sea.
Both Sea-Eye and Open Arms carried out three separate rescues before heading to the ports assigned to them by Italy, saying that migrants would have died without their intervention.
Italian authorities are also instructing ships to head to more distant ports, in some cases hundreds of kilometers away.
The Aurora was sequestered after it refused orders to sail to Sicily and instead docked at Lampedusa, which was much closer, saying it was running out of fuel and drinking water.
“We denounce Italy’s cruel political chess game, focused on violently preventing migration and impeding civil sea rescue,” said Giulia Messmer, spokesperson of Sea-Watch.
Both Sea-Watch and Open Arms also face fines of up to 10,000 euros after running foul of the Italian regulations.
Meloni said in December that the clampdown on charity ships was needed to stop them from acting as “ferry boats” for migrants, going “back and forth with human traffickers to shuttle people from one country to the other.”
Despite the restrictions, the number of migrants arriving by boat has soared this year, reaching 105,483 by Aug. 22, according to latest Interior Ministry data, more than double the same period in 2022.
However, many migrants failed to make it. The International Organization for Migration estimates that more than 2,000 people have drowned in the central Mediterranean so far in 2023 compared with 1,417 for all of 2022. ($1 = 0.9249 euros)
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Italy impounds three rescue ships as migrant numbers soar
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Italy impounds three rescue ships as migrant numbers soar
- Germany’s Sea Eye 4 boat was detained after bringing 114 migrants to the southern port of Salerno
- It was also fined almost 3,000 euros ($3,240), the Sea Eye group said in a statement
Missiles pound Ukraine capital ahead of Russian invasion anniversary
- Kyiv has faced waves of overnight strikes in recent weeks as Moscow has intensified its winter assaults
- The strikes also prompted heightened vigilance across Ukraine’s western border
KYIV: Explosions rocked Kyiv before dawn on Sunday after officials warned of a ballistic missile attack, just two days before the fourth anniversary of Russia’s invasion.
AFP journalists in the capital heard a series of loud blasts beginning around 4:00 a.m. (0200 GMT), shortly after an air raid alert was issued.
“The enemy is attacking the capital with ballistic weapons,” the head of Kyiv’s military administration Tymur Tkachenko said on Telegram, urging people to remain in shelters.
The air force later extended the alert nationwide, warning of a broader missile threat.
Kyiv, regularly targeted by Russian missile and drone attacks since the start of the invasion on Feb. 24, 2022, has faced waves of overnight strikes in recent weeks as Moscow has intensified its winter assaults on energy and military infrastructure.
Temperatures had plunged to nearly minus 10C when the capital was struck again, with emergency services deployed across the city.
Tkachenko later said the attacks had caused a fire on the roof of a residential building.
The strikes also prompted heightened vigilance across Ukraine’s western border.
Poland’s Operational Command said early Sunday it was scrambling jets after detecting “long-range aviation of the Russian federation conducting strikes on the territory of Ukraine.”
It also came hours after blasts in Lviv, a western city near the Polish border that rarely sees deadly attacks.
Explosions ripped through a central shopping street around 12:30 am (2230 GMT Saturday), killing a policewoman and injuring 15 people after officers responded to a reported break-in.
“This is clearly an act of terrorism,” mayor Andriy Sadovyi said, offering no details on perpetrators.
Such attacks far from the front line have become more frequent over the past two years.
Four years of war
Ukraine will mark four years since Russia’s assault on Feb. 24, 2022, a withering war that has shattered towns, uprooted millions and killed large numbers on both sides.
Moscow occupies close to a fifth of Ukrainian territory and continues to grind forward in places, especially in the eastern Donbas region, despite heavy losses and repeated Ukrainian strikes on logistics.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Friday that Ukraine “is definitely not losing” the war and that victory remains the goal.
He said Ukrainian forces had clawed back about 300 square kilometers (116 square miles) of territory in recent counterattacks, gains AFP could not immediately verify.
If confirmed, they would be Kyiv’s most significant advances since 2023.
Sweeping outages of Starlink Internet terminals across the Ukraine front, shut down by owner Elon Musk following a plea from Kyiv, have enabled the push, according to Zelensky.
The bombardment also came amid a diplomatic push by Washington to end the four-year war.
Ukrainian, Russian and US envoys have met several times since January, but without a breakthrough.
Zelensky, under mounting pressure from Washington to consider concessions, plans consultations with European leaders in the coming days and wants deeper involvement from Middle Eastern states and Turkiye.
AFP journalists in the capital heard a series of loud blasts beginning around 4:00 a.m. (0200 GMT), shortly after an air raid alert was issued.
“The enemy is attacking the capital with ballistic weapons,” the head of Kyiv’s military administration Tymur Tkachenko said on Telegram, urging people to remain in shelters.
The air force later extended the alert nationwide, warning of a broader missile threat.
Kyiv, regularly targeted by Russian missile and drone attacks since the start of the invasion on Feb. 24, 2022, has faced waves of overnight strikes in recent weeks as Moscow has intensified its winter assaults on energy and military infrastructure.
Temperatures had plunged to nearly minus 10C when the capital was struck again, with emergency services deployed across the city.
Tkachenko later said the attacks had caused a fire on the roof of a residential building.
The strikes also prompted heightened vigilance across Ukraine’s western border.
Poland’s Operational Command said early Sunday it was scrambling jets after detecting “long-range aviation of the Russian federation conducting strikes on the territory of Ukraine.”
It also came hours after blasts in Lviv, a western city near the Polish border that rarely sees deadly attacks.
Explosions ripped through a central shopping street around 12:30 am (2230 GMT Saturday), killing a policewoman and injuring 15 people after officers responded to a reported break-in.
“This is clearly an act of terrorism,” mayor Andriy Sadovyi said, offering no details on perpetrators.
Such attacks far from the front line have become more frequent over the past two years.
Four years of war
Ukraine will mark four years since Russia’s assault on Feb. 24, 2022, a withering war that has shattered towns, uprooted millions and killed large numbers on both sides.
Moscow occupies close to a fifth of Ukrainian territory and continues to grind forward in places, especially in the eastern Donbas region, despite heavy losses and repeated Ukrainian strikes on logistics.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Friday that Ukraine “is definitely not losing” the war and that victory remains the goal.
He said Ukrainian forces had clawed back about 300 square kilometers (116 square miles) of territory in recent counterattacks, gains AFP could not immediately verify.
If confirmed, they would be Kyiv’s most significant advances since 2023.
Sweeping outages of Starlink Internet terminals across the Ukraine front, shut down by owner Elon Musk following a plea from Kyiv, have enabled the push, according to Zelensky.
The bombardment also came amid a diplomatic push by Washington to end the four-year war.
Ukrainian, Russian and US envoys have met several times since January, but without a breakthrough.
Zelensky, under mounting pressure from Washington to consider concessions, plans consultations with European leaders in the coming days and wants deeper involvement from Middle Eastern states and Turkiye.
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