CATANIA, Italy (Reuters) – Thirteen sick migrants on Saturday left the Italian rescue ship docked for five days in a Sicilian port and Interior Minister Matteo Salvini said he was working on a “positive solution” for the remaining 137 people on board.

The migrants, mainly from Eritrea, have been stranded in the port of Catania since Monday because the Italian government is refusing to let them off the boat until other European Union states agree to take some of them in. The United Nations called on Saturday for reason from all sides after a meeting of envoys from 10 EU states in Brussels a day earlier failed to break the deadlock.

“Frightened people who may be in need of international protection should not be caught in the maelstrom of politics,” the U.N. refugee agency UNHCR said in a statement.

It appealed to EU member states to “urgently” offer relocation places to the rescued people, in line with an agreement at an EU summit in June, and in the meantime urged Italy to allow “the immediate disembarkation of those on board.”

The only help from within the bloc came late on Saturday from Ireland whose foreign minister, Simon Coveney, said the government had agreed to accept 20 to 25 migrants.

Ireland’s announcement followed an offer from non-EU member Albania to take in 20 of the migrants.

Italy’s Foreign Ministry called Albania’s offer “a signal of great solidarity and friendship which Italy greatly appreciates.”

Salvini was in discussions with other non-EU countries who might be willing to follow Albania’s example, an Interior Ministry source said earlier on Saturday.

Italy’s anti-establishment government that took office three months ago has refused to back down, despite criticism from rights groups and the opposition.

The migrants that disembarked on Saturday — seven women and six men — were ordered off the boat by doctors after a check-up carried out at around midday.

They finally left the boat one-by-one some six hours later, stepping down a flight of steps to touch dry land for the first time since leaving Libya at least 10 days ago. They were taken by ambulance to Catania’s Garibaldi hospital.

The doctors had recommended all 11 women on board be disembarked, but four refused to leave their partners on board.

More than 650,000 people have reached Italian shores since 2014 and Rome says it will not let any more rescue ships dock unless the migrants are shared out around the EU. </s> The Government will accept up to 25 people from a group of migrants who were stuck on an Italian coast guard ship for 10 days after they were rescued in the Mediterranean Sea.

Some 137 migrants disembarked the Diciotti ship on Sunday ,stepping on to the dock at Catania, Sicily, where police photographed them for ID checks, a requirement for asylum seekers.

Italy’s populist government had not let them leave the ship earlier, demanding that other European Union countries take them.

Ireland was the only EU country to do so, pledging to take between 20 and 25. Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney tweeted that he and Minister for Justice Charlie Flanagan had “ agreed that Ireland will accept 20-25 migrants from the Diciotti, subject to usual conditions & vetting,”. He wrote that “European solidarity is important” and “ this is the right thing to do”. He said “ work continues with EU partners on more sustainable solutions” .

Non-EU country Albania said it will take 20 migrants, while Italian Catholic bishops said they would care for about 100.

On August 16th, the Diciotti’s crew rescued 190 migrants, most from Eritrea, from a smuggling boat.

The others, including minors and ailing migrants, were allowed off earlier.

Italy has threatened economic reprisals against the EU for not helping it enough with migrants.–PA </s> ROME -- Ten days after they were rescued in the Mediterranean Sea, Italy has allowed all the migrants stuck on an Italian coast guard ship to disembark.

Early Sunday, 137 migrants left the Diciotti, stepping onto the dock at Catania, Sicily, where police photographed them for ID checks, a requirement for asylum-seekers.

Italy's populist government had not let them leave the ship earlier, demanding that other European Union countries take them. Only Ireland did, pledging to take 20. Non-EU Albania will take 20, while Italian Catholic bishops said they would care for about 100.

On Aug. 16, the Diciotti's crew rescued 190 migrants, most from Eritrea, from a smuggling boat. The others, including minors and ailing migrants, were allowed off earlier.

Italy has threatened economic reprisals against the EU for not helping it enough with migrants. </s> Some 150 migrants who were not being allowed to disembark from an Italian coastguard boat in Sicily have started a hunger strike, an opposition senator said Friday.

“I have just heard from the Port Authority that there is tension aboard the #Diciotti ship and that migrants have started a hunger strike,” Davide Faraone of the Democratic Party wrote on Twitter.

“As a result, visits aboard to express solidarity and verify conditions on the boat have been suspended for security reasons,” he added.

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One hundred and ninety migrants were rescued more than a week ago by the Diciotti on Monday.

Thirteen needing medical assistance were taken onshore while the remaining 177 were taken to Catania.

Under pressure from humanitarian groups, Italy’s hardline Interior Minister and Deputy Premier Matteo Salvini let 27 children disembark on Wednesday.

He said however that the remaining migrants would be kept aboard until other European Union nations take them in.

It is the latest in a series of diplomatic spats over boats picking up migrants trying to reach European shores from northern Africa.

The solution to the Diciotti situation “is a nice plane arriving in Catania airport from one of the European capitals” to pick up the migrants, Salvini told Corriere della Sera daily.

A meeting was due to take place in Brussels on Friday among negotiators from 12 member states, with the aim of finding a long-term solution to the migrant rescue problem.

An EU spokesman declined on Thursday to name which countries are participating, but said the meeting is open to anyone “interested in a European solution.”

Industry Minister Luigi Di Maio said Thursday that if “nothing comes out” of the Brussels talks, Italy should block payments into the EU budget. </s> Many of the 150 migrants stranded aboard a coast guard ship for a ninth day began a hunger strike Friday out of frustration that Italy won't let them disembark in Sicily unless fellow European Union nations first pledge to take them, authorities said, in the latest standoff provoked by Italy's anti-migrant interior minister.

"They can do whatever they believe," Interior Minister Matteo Salvini tweeted, shrugging off the development that migrants were refusing meals aboard the Italian coast guard vessel Diciotti. The ship rescued them on Aug. 16 from a foundering human trafficker's boat in the central Mediterranean, and for days now has been docked in the port of Catania, Sicily.

An opposition lawmaker, Sen. Davide Faraone said that on Friday Catania port officials told him "there's tension" on the ship and that migrants have stopped eating.

Thirteen young children and ailing adults were evacuated from the Diciotti early in the drama. On Wednesday, 27 minors, all teenagers, were allowed to disembark in Catania. Salvini has been adamant that Italy's populist government won't allow any of the 150 adults still aboard the vessel disembark unless other EU nations commit to taking the asylum-seekers.

All but about 18 of those aboard are Eritrean; the others are from Somalia, Syria and Sudan. They have told authorities they suffered months and even years of inhumane treatment in detention in Libya, while waiting to leave that lawless country aboard smugglers' boats.

Another opposition lawmaker who went aboard on Thursday expressed particular concern about 11 women, some as young as 19 or 20, still there.

Appealing to Salvini, Laura Boldrini said: "As a father, they could be your daughter. At least let the young women off" the Diciotti.

Sky TG24 TV said some women aboard ate lunch Friday but the men refused the meal.

But Salvini was staying tough, as was fellow deputy premier, Luigi Di Maio, who heads the senior coalition partner, the euro-skeptic 5-Star Movement.

Di Maio threatened that Italy could withhold some of its yearly 20 billion euro ($23 billion) contribution to the bloc if EU nations didn't make good on promises earlier this year for more solidarity toward the Italians, who have seen more than 600,000 rescued migrants brought to Italian shores in recent years.

If the European Commission meeting doesn't "decide anything about the Diciotti ship and the re-distribution of the migrants, I and all the 5-Star Movement are no longer willing to give 20 billion to the European Union," Di Maio said.

In Brussels, EU Commission spokesman Alexander Winterstein retorted that "the European Union is a community of rules and it operates on the basis of rules, not threats." He urged "all parties involved to work constructively together to find a swift solution."

A meeting in Brussels Friday of lower-officials from 12 countries, including Italy, was grappling with how to share the migrant burden among EU members. The meeting wasn't called to deal with the Diciotti standoff, but was expected to discuss it.

Raf Casert and Lorne Cook in Brussels contributed to this report. </s> Doctors ordered on Saturday that 16 sick migrants be allowed to leave the Italian rescue ship docked for five days in a Sicilian port as Interior Minister Matteo Salvini said he was working on a "positive solution" for the remaining 134 people on board.

CATANIA, Italy: Doctors ordered on Saturday that 16 sick migrants be allowed to leave the Italian rescue ship docked for five days in a Sicilian port as Interior Minister Matteo Salvini said he was working on a "positive solution" for the remaining 134 people on board.

The migrants, mainly from Eritrea, have been stranded in the port of Catania since Monday because the Italian government is refusing to let them off the boat until other European Union states agree to take some of them in.

The United Nations called on Saturday for reason from all sides after a meeting of envoys from 10 EU states in Brussels a day earlier failed to break the deadlock.

"Frightened people who may be in need of international protection should not be caught in the maelstrom of politics, the U.N. refugee agency UNHCR said in a statement.

It appealed to EU member states to "urgently" offer relocation places to the rescued people, in line with an agreement at an EU summit in June, and in the meantime urged Italy to allow "the immediate disembarkation of those on board."

But the anti-establishment government that took office three months ago shows no sign of backing down, despite fierce criticism from rights groups and the opposition.

More than 650,000 people have reached Italian shores since 2014 and Rome says it will not let any more rescue ships dock unless the migrants are shared out around the EU.

"I am totally untroubled and I am working, with good prospects of success, on a positive solution," said Salvini, leader of the right-wing League party, adding that he considered the criticism he received to be a "badge of honour."

Inspectors from the Italian Health Ministry and the Red Cross went on board the coastguard vessel Diciotti to visit the migrants, some of whom have been refusing food in protest at being detained on board for days under the hot sun.

Following the check up, they ordered that 11 women and five men be allowed off the boat and taken to Catania's Garibaldi hospital. They have not yet disembarked but Salvini's Interior Ministry said they would do so shortly. No information was immediately given on their health problems.

Stefano Principato, a Red Cross representative, said the health of most of the migrants "isn't particularly critical," adding their problems "are more psychological than physical."

Earlier this week Italy let 27 unaccompanied minors leave the vessel. Prior to that, 13 people needing urgent hospital attention were evacuated from the ship, which picked up the migrants in the Mediterranean 10 days ago.

The mostly young men now on board shelter from the sun under a large green tarpaulin that covers around half the deck, with clothes attached to it hanging out to dry. Some occasionally wave to reporters gathered at the port.

The 5-Star Movement, the League's coalition partner, has so far backed Salvini's hard line, and on Tuesday its Transport Minister Danilo Toninelli, who is responsible for the country's ports, renewed the government's attacks on the EU.

"Nobody can give lessons to Italy on its humanitarian efforts," he tweeted. "The government is only asking the EU give some sense to its own existence." </s> Italy has allowed all the migrants stuck on an Italian coast guard ship to disembark, 10 days after they were rescued in the Mediterranean Sea.

Some 137 migrants left the Diciotti early on Sunday, stepping on to the dock at Catania, Sicily, where police photographed them for ID checks, a requirement for asylum seekers.

Italy’s populist government had not let them leave the ship earlier, demanding that other European Union countries take them. Migrants disembark from the ship (Orietta Scardino/ANSA via AP) Only Ireland did, pledging to take 20. Non-EU Albania will take 20, while Italian Catholic bishops said they would care for about 100. On August 16, the Diciotti’s crew rescued 190 migrants, most from Eritrea, from a smuggling boat. The others, including minors and ailing migrants, were allowed off earlier. Italy has threatened economic reprisals against the EU for not helping it enough with migrants. </s> CATANIA, Italy (Reuters) - Doctors ordered on Saturday that 16 sick migrants be allowed to leave the Italian rescue ship docked for five days in a Sicilian port as Interior Minister Matteo Salvini said he was working on a “positive solution” for the remaining 134 people on board.

The migrants, mainly from Eritrea, have been stranded in the port of Catania since Monday because the Italian government is refusing to let them off the boat until other European Union states agree to take some of them in.

The United Nations called on Saturday for reason from all sides after a meeting of envoys from 10 EU states in Brussels a day earlier failed to break the deadlock.

“Frightened people who may be in need of international protection should not be caught in the maelstrom of politics, the U.N. refugee agency UNHCR said in a statement.

It appealed to EU member states to “urgently” offer relocation places to the rescued people, in line with an agreement at an EU summit in June, and in the meantime urged Italy to allow “the immediate disembarkation of those on board.”

But the anti-establishment government that took office three months ago shows no sign of backing down, despite fierce criticism from rights groups and the opposition.

More than 650,000 people have reached Italian shores since 2014 and Rome says it will not let any more rescue ships dock unless the migrants are shared out around the EU.

“I am totally untroubled and I am working, with good prospects of success, on a positive solution,” said Salvini, leader of the right-wing League party, adding that he considered the criticism he received to be a “badge of honour.”

Inspectors from the Italian Health Ministry and the Red Cross went on board the coastguard vessel Diciotti to visit the migrants, some of whom have been refusing food in protest at being detained on board for days under the hot sun.

Following the check up, they ordered that 11 women and five men be allowed off the boat and taken to Catania’s Garibaldi hospital. They have not yet disembarked but Salvini’s Interior Ministry said they would do so shortly. No information was immediately given on their health problems.

Stefano Principato, a Red Cross representative, said the health of most of the migrants “isn’t particularly critical,” adding their problems “are more psychological than physical.”

Earlier this week Italy let 27 unaccompanied minors leave the vessel. Prior to that, 13 people needing urgent hospital attention were evacuated from the ship, which picked up the migrants in the Mediterranean 10 days ago.

The mostly young men now on board shelter from the sun under a large green tarpaulin that covers around half the deck, with clothes attached to it hanging out to dry. Some occasionally wave to reporters gathered at the port.

The 5-Star Movement, the League’s coalition partner, has so far backed Salvini’s hard line, and on Tuesday its Transport Minister Danilo Toninelli, who is responsible for the country’s ports, renewed the government’s attacks on the EU.

“Nobody can give lessons to Italy on its humanitarian efforts,” he tweeted. “The government is only asking the EU give some sense to its own existence.” </s> CATANIA, Italy, Aug 25 (Reuters) - Doctors ordered on Saturday that 16 sick migrants be allowed to leave the Italian rescue ship docked for five days in a Sicilian port as Interior Minister Matteo Salvini said he was working on a "positive solution" for the remaining 134 people on board.

The migrants, mainly from Eritrea, have been stranded in the port of Catania since Monday because the Italian government is refusing to let them off the boat until other European Union states agree to take some of them in.

The United Nations called on Saturday for reason from all sides after a meeting of envoys from 10 EU states in Brussels a day earlier failed to break the deadlock.

"Frightened people who may be in need of international protection should not be caught in the maelstrom of politics, the U.N. refugee agency UNHCR said in a statement.

It appealed to EU member states to "urgently" offer relocation places to the rescued people, in line with an agreement at an EU summit in June, and in the meantime urged Italy to allow "the immediate disembarkation of those on board."

But the anti-establishment government that took office three months ago shows no sign of backing down, despite fierce criticism from rights groups and the opposition.

More than 650,000 people have reached Italian shores since 2014 and Rome says it will not let any more rescue ships dock unless the migrants are shared out around the EU.

"I am totally untroubled and I am working, with good prospects of success, on a positive solution," said Salvini, leader of the right-wing League party, adding that he considered the criticism he received to be a "badge of honour."

Inspectors from the Italian Health Ministry and the Red Cross went on board the coastguard vessel Diciotti to visit the migrants, some of whom have been refusing food in protest at being detained on board for days under the hot sun.

Following the check up, they ordered that 11 women and five men be allowed off the boat and taken to Catania's Garibaldi hospital. They have not yet disembarked but Salvini's Interior Ministry said they would do so shortly. No information was immediately given on their health problems.

Stefano Principato, a Red Cross representative, said the health of most of the migrants "isn't particularly critical," adding their problems "are more psychological than physical."

Earlier this week Italy let 27 unaccompanied minors leave the vessel. Prior to that, 13 people needing urgent hospital attention were evacuated from the ship, which picked up the migrants in the Mediterranean 10 days ago.

The mostly young men now on board shelter from the sun under a large green tarpaulin that covers around half the deck, with clothes attached to it hanging out to dry. Some occasionally wave to reporters gathered at the port.

The 5-Star Movement, the League's coalition partner, has so far backed Salvini's hard line, and on Tuesday its Transport Minister Danilo Toninelli, who is responsible for the country's ports, renewed the government's attacks on the EU.

"Nobody can give lessons to Italy on its humanitarian efforts," he tweeted. "The government is only asking the EU give some sense to its own existence." (Writing by Gavin Jones Editing by Helen Popper)
Representatives from 12 European Union countries do not reach an agreement on Italy's request to take in the 150 migrants still remaining on the Diciotti-class vessel in Catania, Sicily, after their rescue by the Italian Coast Guard nine days ago.