ROME - Migrants saved by boats run by non-governmental organisations will not be allowed into Italy, rightwing Interior Minister Matteo Salvini says.
Mr Salvini has often accused the NGOs of encouraging the trafficking of migrants. He told Corriere della Sera these NGOs were no longer "legitimate".
He also hailed the agreement reached by European Union leaders in Brussels that Italy hopes will lessen its burden.
Thousands of migrants, mainly from African countries, have reached Italy.
The number is 95% lower than at the peak of the crisis in 2015, the EU says, but started to rise again recently.
Several Central European states have so far rejected an EU scheme to relocate 160,000 refugees from overcrowded camps in Greece and Italy.
Mr Salvini posted an image on his Facebook, showing one of the rescue boats, with the hashtag #closetheports.
His message read: "Halt the mafia of human trafficking: the fewer that depart, the fewer will perish."(FA)
