Italian coast guard ship with migrants arrives in Sicily

The Italian coast guard ship Diciotti yesterday made port in the Sicilian city of Catania with 177 migrants awaiting word on which countries will take them in following another standoff between Malta and Italy.

Though the ship made port late on Monday, the Italian government is not allowing the migrants to disembark pending a decision by the European Union on where they will go.

The migrants, rescued last week, include 28 unaccompanied minors.

Malta has declined to take them in, saying the smugglers’ boat they were in was not in distress as it passed Maltese waters and that, in any case, the migrants preferred to continue to Italy.

Italy has asked the EU to work out a solution following threats by its interior minister to return them to Libya.