Hundreds of boat migrants have once again reached the Italian Mediterranean island of Lampedusa. On Tuesday alone, a total of almost 900 people arrived on the small island between Sicily and North Africa, as the Ansa news agency reported. On Wednesday morning, another 171 migrants arrived in the port of Lampedusa on five boats.
Lampedusa is currently once again a hotspot for migration: last week, thousands of migrants landed on the small island on boats from North Africa. More than 5,000 people arrived on the island in one day – more than ever before within 24 hours. The island declared a state of emergency.
According to Ansa, the island’s initial reception center is still overcrowded. More than 1,700 people are in the so-called hotspot, including almost 450 unaccompanied minors.
Tunisia: 2,500 migrants prevented from crossing
The Tunisian coast guard says it has prevented more than 2,500 migrants from crossing to Europe in the past few days. The National Guard reports that a total of 2,507 migrants were intercepted from Friday to Monday alone. There are said to have been almost 600 Tunisians among them. The other people were primarily migrants from sub-Saharan Africa.
According to Tuesday’s information, many of the migrants were stopped in the coastal city of Sfax. Because of its proximity to the Italian island of Lampedusa, many smugglers regularly send the sometimes unseaworthy and overcrowded boats from here on the highly dangerous crossing. Tunisia is now considered the most important transit country for migrants from Africa on their way to Italy. The EU Commission has announced a migration agreement with the North African country. In return for financial aid worth millions, security authorities should take greater action against smugglers and the abandonment of boats.
