Nearly 140 migrants who had been stranded on a boat at a port in Sicily have been allowed to disembark after Ireland and Albania agreed to take some of them in.
The boat docked at Catania port on Monday but Italy had refused to let those on board disembark in the absence of any EU commitment to relocate them, prompting a new bitter row with Brussels.
But following a deal brokered by the Catholic Church late on Saturday, Italy’s far-right Interior Minister Matteo Salvini agreed to allow them to leave the Diciotti, the Italian coastguard ship which rescued them some 10 days ago.
There were initially around 180 migrants on board when it arrived at Catania, but Rome allowed 27 unaccompanied minors to disembark on Wednesday and another 12 people left on Saturday following a health authority request.
Albania, which is not a member of the EU, offered safe haven to 20 of the migrants, with Ireland saying it would take up to 25.
It is not immediately clear what would happen to the others, although Italian media reports suggested Rome was in talks with Serbia and Montenegro.
— AFP
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