A simmering civil war is threatening to erupt after a court ruled migrants sent to Albania under what has been likened to 'Rome's Rwanda plan' to be brought back to .

Furious Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has vowed to fight the controversial ruling made by a court in Rome on Friday, which ordered the first group of migrants to be turned around and brought back on the navy vessel which was taking them to a processing centre.

Italy has been exploring ways of dealing with illegal immigration and asylum claims. It has invested millions in two migrant centres in northern Albania, in a scheme similar to the UK Conservatives Rwanda scheme.

But just like the British scheme, Italy's own court system appears to be fighting the plans, and a legal decision rejected the detention of 12 of the migrants, arguing that their countries of origin, Bangladesh and Egypt, were not safe enough for them to be sent back.

Ms Meloni called the decision by the court "prejudiced", adding: "Italians have asked me to stop illegal immigration, and I will do everything possible to keep my word and stop human trafficking."

EU leaders and the British Labour government are said to be watching the outcome of the Italian scheme with interest. The EU bloc is split over how to deal with increasing migrant numbers.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen endorsed the agreement as an example of "out-of-the-box thinking" in tackling the issue of migration into the European Union.

Ms Meloni and her government will hold an urgent cabinet meeting today (Monday) to discuss ways of fighting the court ruling.

The Italian navy ship arrived in the southern port of Bari on Saturday afternoon, and the migrants were taken to the local asylum seekers' hosting centre.

But the court decision represents an early stumbling block to a five-year deal between Italy and Albania, estimated to cost €670 million (£557 million), for Tirana to host 3,000 migrants per month picked up in international waters by the Italian coast guard.

They will be vetted for possible asylum in Italy or returned to their countries.

Meloni slammed the judges following the ruling and said that deeming countries such as Bangladesh and Egypt unsafe means that virtually all migrants would be barred from the Albania program, making it unworkable.

Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi said the government would appeal the ruling.

Speaking to reporters during a trip to Lebanon, Ms Meloni said she would convene a Cabinet meeting Monday to discuss the issue.

Ms Meloni added: "We'll meet to approve some norms that will allow us to overcome this obstacle. I believe it's up to the government and not magistrates to establish which countries can be considered safe."

Although Bangladesh and Egypt are not at war or facing any large refugee crises, the judges in Rome said their decision was based on recent international rulings that consider discrimination or persecution in even a part of a country as grounds for such a determination.