Italian interior minister Salvini greets migrants from Niger
1,235 views · Published 19 November 2018 · 3:28 · Indexed 31 October 2026
Channel: AP Archive · 2018 · News & Politics
(14 Nov 2018) Italy's hard-line interior minister has welcomed 51 refugees and asylum-seekers who arrived in Italy after being detained in Libya and then airlifted out by the UN refugee agency. Matteo Salvini, whose crackdown on migrants fleeing Libya aboard smugglers' boats inflamed tensions across Europe, was on hand at Rome's Pratica di Mare military base on Wednesday as the men, women and children disembarked from a flight from Niger. He told journalists there "the only possible way of arriving for women, children and disabled people is by airplane. Not on boats because boats are run by criminals who use the income from human trafficking to buy drugs and weapons." Salvini said his goal has been and continues to be to "open Italy's doors wide for those who escape war and suffering," suggesting those who try to reach Italy by boat "want to bring war to our home". He said Wednesday's arrival by plane was "the first of a series," and not "a one off thing just because Christmas is approaching." The 51 migrants were identified by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees as deserving of international protection and were flown out of Libya to Niger pending relocation. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter: https://twitter.com/AP_Archive Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/APArchives Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/APNews/ You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/297633aa8f53b26238f2f573295e524c
