Italian charity ship defies Rome to rescue 50 off Libyan coast
by Lorenzo Tondo in Palermo and agencies from World news | The Guardian on (#4BB8P)
Rescue could spark showdown with government after order not to bring migrants to Italy
An Italian charity ship has rescued about 50 people from a rubber boat off the coast of Libya, prompting Rome to warn it is ready to stop private vessels "once and for all" from bringing rescued migrants to Italy.
The interior minister, Matteo Salvini, has repeatedly declared Italian waters closed to NGO rescue vessels and has left several of them stranded at sea in the past in an attempt to force the rest of Europe to take in more asylum seekers.
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