MSF disembarks 85 migrants rescued in the Mediterranean in southern Italy

MADRID, 4 Ene. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The 85 migrants and refugees rescued in central Mediterranean waters by the 'Geo Barents', the ship of the NGO Doctors Without Borders (MSF), disembarked this Wednesday in the port of Taranto, in southern Italy, two days after receive the approval of the authorities.

The migrants correspond to a rescue carried out by the 'Geo Barents' on January 1 and a transfer carried out the following day of 44 people who were aboard a freighter.

The Government of Giorgia Meloni approved last week a decree law that opened the door to fines and seizures of the ships of NGOs, which the Italian authorities have accused of promoting migration in the Mediterranean with their activities.

The coordinator of MSF's search and rescue operations, Juan Matías Gil, has confirmed that the NGO has no intention of ending its work, given a decree that threatens to cause "more deaths" in the Mediterranean. In this sense, he recalled that organizations try to "fill the void" in the absence of operatives

The Ministry of the Interior estimates that more than 100,000 people arrived on the Italian coast in 2022, a figure that it considers unaffordable. More than 1,300 migrants and refugees have lost their lives on this route, according to estimates by the International Organization for Migration (IOM).