Eleven boats carrying almost 850 illegal immigrants, mostly Tunisians arrived in the night from Sunday to Monday on the Italian island of Lampedusa. These newcomers were added to the hundreds of migrants who arrived during the weekend on the island despite bad weather and rough seas. The boats arrived between 21 pm and 6 am, and another boat with a hundred people on board was in sight Monday morning.
Due to better weather conditions should continue until Tuesday, other landings from Tunisia are expected Monday and Tuesday. None of these immigrants do not seem to come from Libya, while Italian authorities fear a mass exodus from their former colony. More than 7,000 Tunisians have fled to Italy since the overthrow in January of President Zine El-Ali AbidineBen.
Tens of thousands of immigrants have also crossed the border into Tunisia to escape the fighting in Libya. In Lampedusa, residents fear that an influx of migrants to harm the tourist season this summer. All immigrants should be transferred to the reception center of the island, where there are already a thousand people, while its capacity is 850 beds.
The mayor of Lampedusa, Bernardino De Rubeis, on Sunday called the interior minister, Roberto Maroni, who assured that the operations of air and sea transport will resume on Monday for illegal transfer to other centers. Monday morning, a first plane with hundreds of illegal immigrants on board left Lampedusa to Crotone, in Calabria, and 64 others boarded a ferry to Porto Empedocle, near Agrigento, Sicily.
In February, Italy has requested the assistance of the European Union to cope with the arrival of illegal immigrants from Tunisia. To help Rome to confront the influx of illegal immigrants, most of which would go to France, the EU deployed a mission agency Frontex border control of the Union. 
Due to better weather conditions should continue until Tuesday, other landings from Tunisia are expected Monday and Tuesday. None of these immigrants do not seem to come from Libya, while Italian authorities fear a mass exodus from their former colony. More than 7,000 Tunisians have fled to Italy since the overthrow in January of President Zine El-Ali AbidineBen.
Tens of thousands of immigrants have also crossed the border into Tunisia to escape the fighting in Libya. In Lampedusa, residents fear that an influx of migrants to harm the tourist season this summer. All immigrants should be transferred to the reception center of the island, where there are already a thousand people, while its capacity is 850 beds.
The mayor of Lampedusa, Bernardino De Rubeis, on Sunday called the interior minister, Roberto Maroni, who assured that the operations of air and sea transport will resume on Monday for illegal transfer to other centers. Monday morning, a first plane with hundreds of illegal immigrants on board left Lampedusa to Crotone, in Calabria, and 64 others boarded a ferry to Porto Empedocle, near Agrigento, Sicily.
In February, Italy has requested the assistance of the European Union to cope with the arrival of illegal immigrants from Tunisia. To help Rome to confront the influx of illegal immigrants, most of which would go to France, the EU deployed a mission agency Frontex border control of the Union.
- Italian Island Swamped w/ Tunisian/Libyan Refugees (07/03/2011)
- North African boat migrants land on Lampedusa (07/03/2011)
- You: Hundreds of Tunisian migrants arrive on Italian island (07/03/2011)
- Italy seeks EU help to cope with Tunisian influx (13/02/2011)
- 1,000 migrants arrive in Italy over a few hours (07/03/2011)
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