International, MNA | Twelve migrants have died in the Central Mediterranean, Italian officials and a rescue charity said Friday, as a debate rages over Rome's crackdown on NGOs operating in the world's deadliest crossing.
The Italian government appears to be using a new tactic against private sea rescue organizations operating in the Mediterranean. While previously the allocation of ports was often delayed or ships were confiscated, the government is now also asking rescue ships to make longer journeys.
Emails sent by the Maltese Rescue Coordination Centre show them telling merchant ships that any interception would be considered 'an interception on high seas'