The Italian government has rejected a request from a ship run by Doctors Without Borders non-governmental organisation (NGO) to assign a safe port closer to the place where it rescued 73 migrants, an NGO official said on Sunday.
Italy's interior ministry did not comment on the issue.
The dispute is part of a broader tug-of-war between Italy's right-wing government and NGOs over where to disembark migrants saved in the Mediterranean sea.
