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The Italy navy has rescued as
many as 6,000 migrants attempting a dangerous sea crossing to
Europe over the past four days, and should have more assistance
from allies, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
(UNHCR) said Friday.
It estimates that more than 40 boats crammed with migrants,
many fleeing wars in the Middle East and Africa, have been
rescued as they struggled to reach the coasts of Sicily and
Calabria.
"Large numbers of women and children, including newborns
and unaccompanied children, are among (those who have been
rescued)" Melissa Fleming, a spokeswoman for the UNHCR told a
media briefing Friday.
She said the migrants came from Libya, Syria, Somalia,
Nigeria, and other African and Middle Eastern countries, with
many fleeing persecution.
The Mediterranean is one of the busiest seas in the world,
but also poses a "dangerous border...for many asylum seekers who
seek salvation in Europe," said Fleming.
She urged the European Union members to work together on
solutions to the migrant situation, which is expected to worsen,
including improving legal channels for immigrants to Europe.
Practical refugee aid, including additional shelters, is
also needed, she added.
She spoke soon after the Italian navy rescued 800 North
African immigrants off the coast of Libya Thursday night in the
latest in a string of pick-ups off rickety boats that have been
launched like flotillas during the recent spell of warm weather.
The migrants were on board seven rust-buckets and large
dinghies that were intercepted by four Navy frigates and a
Finance Guard motorboat about 70 nautical miles south of the
stepping-stone Italian island of Lampedusa, which is closer to
Libya than to Sicily.
The asylum seekers were transferred to the large Italian
cruiser San Giorgio which is expected to dock in a Sicilian port
later Friday.
Earlier this week, Italy issued a fresh call for help from
the European Union after rescuing more than 4,000 migrants in 48
hours.
Interior Minister Angelino Alfano said in a radio interview
Wednesday that "with the fine weather, the next six months are
going to be extremely tough".
He said most migrants now disembarking on Italy's shores
are political asylum seekers, and Europe must give Italy a
bigger hand in processing and relocating them.
"Hundreds of thousands are in Libya waiting to get on a
boat", Alfano told Sole 24 Ore financial paper's Radio24.
"It is of the essence that the international community set
up refugee camps as well as bilateral control over coasts and
departures".
Every year, tens of thousands of migrants arrive in Italy,
which is the first landfall for those trying to reach Europe by
boat from North Africa.
Many die while attempting the hazardous crossing in
rickety, overcrowded vessels after being charged exorbitant
prices by human traffickers.
After some 400 people drowned in two migrant-boat disasters
within sight of Lampedusa in October 2013, Italy set up a
surveillance and rescue operation called Mare Nostrum to prevent
further deaths at sea.
"We are rescuing thousands of migrants with our ships",
Alfano continued.
"We must speed up procedures to expel those who have no
right to stay, and to receive those who have a right to
asylum".
Some 15,000 migrants have landed on Italy's coasts since
the beginning of the year, Alfano said.
"Most asylum seekers don't even want to stay in Italy.
Other countries must take these people in, because that's where
they wanted to go in the first place," the minister explained.
"Europe must understand that we can't take them all in.
And the EU needs to boost our border defense system," said
Alfano.
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