The EU border agency Frontex has denied having documented any "collusion" between NGOs and human traffickers. French Interior Minister Christophe Castaner had claimed earlier in the week that Frontex knew of NGOs aiding smugglers.
A humanitarian ship carrying 64 rescued migrants aboard remains at sea on Friday, just outside Italian territorial waters, as the governments of Italy and Malta refuse to grant safe harbor. Meanwhile, the German run Sea-Watch organization has asked its countries diplomats to try and find a safe port for them within the EU via diplomatic channels.
Migrants reportedly hijacked a cargo ship in Libyan waters and forced the crew to redirect the vessel toward Europe. Maltese armed forces have now escorted it to port.
The NGO vessel Sea Watch is currently awaiting instructions about where to dock and disembark 47 migrants they rescued at sea. The crew of the Sea Watch told ANSA that the migrants aboard are terrorized by the thought of being brought back to Libya. "Their health condition is good and stable, but now worsening weather conditions are concerning," the crew said.
Italy's deputy Prime Minister Luigi Di Maio, accused France of fueling migration through neo-colonial policies in Africa. The statement caused the French authorities to call in the Italian ambassador in Paris. So what's behind Di Maio's statements?
The debate over migration in Italy intensifies after at least 170 people are feared dead in the Mediterranean and nearly 400 rescued migrants were taken back to Libya this weekend. Interior Minister Matteo Salvini says he is sticking to his closed-door policy, despite criticism from the left, which he dismisses as 'parole parole parole' (words, words, words).
At the beginning of 2019, two migrant rescue ships carrying 49 people, including children, waited up to 19 days before being granted a port in which to dock. This has prompted Amnesty International to call for 'urgent action' to change the way rescues at sea are being handled.
Italian authorities have issued arrest warrants for 14 people accused of trafficking migrants on speedboats from Tunisia. Migrants were charged as much as 3,000 euros per trip.
The 49 rescued migrants and refugees say that they are hoping to find "rights and work" in Europe. "We will manage to survive because we know how to adapt to anything," a young Algerian told us.
A total of 51 Kurdish migrants have been rescued off the Crotone coast, in the Italian southern region of Calabria, where their sailboat had run aground. The migrants' screams woke up some of the residents of the area, who took action to save them.
UPDATE: After 17 days in the Mediterranean Sea and battered by winter storms, the two NGO rescue boats stranded close to Malta's shores with 49 migrants on board are still waiting for port access. One of the ships has received supplies and support. International voices to resolve the humanitarian crisis are getting louder.
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) has reported that 111,558 migrants and refugees entered Europe by sea in 2018 through 16 December. At least 2,217 people were reported dead.