French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanen said Thursday night that nine European countries had pledged to take in two-thirds of the 234 migrants picked up by the humanitarian ship Ocean Viking, which is due to dock in Toulon in southeastern France on Friday, AFP reported. .

The Ocean Viking of the non-governmental organization SOS Méditerranée is docked at a military port in France “exceptionally”, according to a statement from the French government, after Italy refused to allow it to dock.

Among the European countries that have pledged to accept migrants, Germany will accept “more than 80 people”, the French minister said in a TV interview.

Also, Croatia, Romania, Bulgaria, Lithuania, Malta, Portugal, Luxembourg and Ireland will accept migrants in the name of “European solidarity”, said Darmanin.

Accepted refugees are those who “have the right to asylum”, the French minister added, reiterating that “those who cannot obtain asylum will return directly to their countries of origin”.

According to the quoted source, Ocean Viking passengers come from Bangladesh, Eritrea, Syria, Egypt, Pakistan, Mali, Sudan, Guinea.

Again condemning the “inhumane” attitude of Italy, which refused to allow the ship to dock, Gérald Darmanin said that “already 500 French policemen are on the border with Italy to better control our border”.

According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), 1,765 migrants have disappeared in the Mediterranean Sea since the beginning of the year, 1,287 of them in the central zone, the most dangerous migration route in the world.

Source: Agerpres