Italy, France at odds over rescued ship

Spain agrees to accept hundreds of migrants

POZZALLO, Sicily — Italy’s populist government on Tuesday lashed out at France for criticizing its refusal to allow safe harbor for a rescue ship with 629 migrants, instead sending two military vessels to take on some of the migrant passengers in the waters off Sicily and escort the ship on a dayslong voyage to Spain.

The standoff over the fate of the Aquarius, turned away by both Italy and nearby Malta but welcomed by Spain, has raised political tensions in Europe as the new Italian government wants neighbors to share more of the burden of migrant arrivals.

In a strongly worded statement, Premier Giuseppe Conte’s office said “Italy cannot accept hypocritical lessons from countries that on the topic of immigration have always preferred to turn their heads.” It singled out France, whose leader earlier was quoted as calling Italy’s response “cynical,” as having adopted migrant arrivals policies “much more rigid and cynical.”

Meanwhile, hundreds of the migrants aboard the Aquarius were being transferred late Tuesday to two ships operated by the Italian navy and coast guard, which will accompany the rescue ship to the Spanish port of Valencia 932 miles away, a journey of some three to four days. It was unclear when the voyage might begin.

The Italian military chased a boat hired by The Associated Press away from the Aquarius. The Aquarius also declined to engage, responding with a radio message: “I kindly ask you to stay away from the Aquarius and not to complicate the situation. Thank your for your understanding.”

Many of the migrants remained on the deck of the overcrowded rescue ship. Their safety was at risk for the longer voyage given the forecast of bad weather, said Mathilde Auvillain, a spokeswoman for the charity SOS Mediterranee that operates the ship with Doctors Without Borders.

A volunteer, Alessandro Porro, said the people on the ship — most of them from sub-sahara Africa — welcomed the announcement Tuesday that their destination would be Spain.

“The news was received with a certain sense of relief among our passengers. The fear of being brought back to Libya was very strong,” Porro said.

Kenny Karpov The Associated Press This undated photo released on Tuesday shows stranded migrants aboard an Italian Coast Guard boat as they are transferred from the SOS Mediterranee’s Aquarius ship to Italian ships to continue the journey to Spain in the...