3 major German cities offer to take in more refugees

By Ayhan Simsek

BERLIN (AA) - Pledging to take in more refugees, three major German cities on Friday called on European authorities to resume sea rescue missions in the Mediterranean.

In an open letter to Chancellor Angela Merkel, the mayors of Bonn, Cologne and Dusseldorf offered to give shelter to some of the refugees saved in sea rescue operations.

"We want to send a signal to humanity, for the right to asylum and for the integration of refugees," the mayors said.

They urged authorities to immediately resume rescue missions in the Mediterranean and accept refugees rescued in these operations.

The move is meant to convince Italy’s new right-wing government to continue allowing rescue ships to dock at its ports.

Last month Rome heavily criticized its EU partners for not showing solidarity in the migrant crisis, and refused several rescue ships docking for rescued migrants to disembark.

This week, Rome gave a five-week deadline to the EU to reach a deal on distributing migrants among the member states, saying it would allow rescue ships to dock at its ports during this period.

More than 1,400 people lost their lives in the first six month of this year while trying to cross into Europe, according to the UN.