Italian navy ship carrying migrants arrives in Albanian port

8/11/2024 16:35

        An Italian navy ship carrying a small group of migrants docked in an Albanian port on Friday in an attempt by Rome to salvage a plan to process asylum seekers abroad after a first attempt hit legal hurdles.
        
        The ship arrived before 8 a.m., a Reuters reporter said. Only eight migrants rescued near the island of Lampedusa were dispatched on Wednesday.
        
        Italy has built two reception centres in Albania under the first project by a European Union nation to divert migrants to a non-EU country. The facilities in Shengjin and Gjader are staffed by Italian personnel.
        
        Under the deal with Tirana, the number of migrants present at one time in Albania cannot exceed 3,000.
        
        Italy sent an initial group of 16 migrants to Albania last month but they were all brought back within days, the majority of them after a Rome court ruled they could not be held in the Balkan country because of concerns about their legal status.