World

In solidarity, Germany to take in 50 migrants rescued in Med

15 of July 2018

The Diciotti ship of the Italian Coast Guard, with 67 migrants on board rescued 4 days ago by the Vos Thalassa freighter, is moored in the Sicilian port of Trapani, southern Italy, Thursday, July 12, 2018. An Italian coast guard ship has docked in Sicily but is still awaiting permission to disembark its 67 migrants, after two of them were accused of threatening their rescuers if they were taken back to Libya. Interior Minister Matteo Salvini said Thursday he won't let the migrants off until there is clarity over what happened after an Italian commercial tugboat rescued them over the weekend. Italy's transport minister said some migrants made death threats against the crew. The threats prompted the Italian coast guard to board the migrants and bring them to Trapani. (Igor Petyx/ANSA via AP),The Diciotti ship of the Italian Coast Guard, with 67 migrants on board rescued 4 days ago by the Vos Thalassa freighter, is moored in the Sicilian port of Trapani, southern Italy, Thursday, July 12, 2018. An Italian coast guard ship has docked in Sicily but is still awaiting permission to disembark its 67 migrants, after two of them were accused of threatening their rescuers if they were taken back to Libya. Interior Minister Matteo Salvini said Thursday he won't let the migrants off until there is clarity over what happened after an Italian commercial tugboat rescued them over the weekend. Italy's transport minister said some migrants made death threats against the crew. The threats prompted the Italian coast guard to board the migrants and bring them to Trapani. (Igor Petyx/ANSA via AP)

BERLIN (AP) — Germany says it will take 50 of the 450 migrants rescued from a fishing boat in the Mediterranean Sea that’s been at the center of a squabble between Italy and Malta.

In a statement Sunday, the German government said “with a view to the ongoing talks about greater bilateral cooperation on asylum, Germany is prepared to take in 50 people in this case.”

France and Malta have also agreed to take in about 100 migrants from the ship.

Italy put out a call for help to other European Union countries, saying it wants them to share the burden of taking in migrants coming across the Mediterranean.

According to EU figures, Germany saw almost 1 million asylum applications in 2016 and 2017; Italy came second with about 250,000.