Italian Minister of Interior Matteo Salvini said that children and those with malaise on Sea-Watch vessel were permitted to enter Italy, “but the absolute ban remains on the Sea Watch 3 against entering our territorial waters.”

Italy has allowed migrant families rescued at sea by the NGO group Sea-Watch, transporting illegal migrants from Libyan coasts to Europe, to be transferred to the southern Italian island of Lampedusa, but is refusing landfall to others.

Sea-Watch says the 18 migrants taken to Lampedusa were mostly families and an injured woman. However, according tot he Sea-Watch there are still migrants, remaining on board, they call them “guests” in a blunt denial of the reality, of illegal migration.

Previously Matteo Salvini reiterated that his government will not allow any of NGO’s search-and-rescue ships to dock. The statement has been made after a vessel exploited by Sea-Watch collected 65 migrants off the Libyan coast this week.

“First they were in Libyan waters, then in Maltese waters,” Salvini underlined.
“Putting the lives of the migrants on board at risk,  they want to reach Italy at all costs” he continued. “These people are not rescuers, they are human traffickers and they will be treated as such”.
“Italy’s ports are closed and will remain closed for traffickers of human beings“, the Minister concluded.

AMENDED: On Sunday the smuggles has celebrated one more victory: all the illegal migrants from Libya were hosted in Italy.