A Liberian boat carrying 112
migrants from sub-Saharan African was escorted by the Italian
Coast Guard Wednesday to Sicily's Porto Empedocle.
The migrants from the boat Perge were to be transferred to
a centre in Trapani, almost 200 km away, rather than the nearby
centre in Siculiana which was said to be at capacity with 260
migrants.
The Liberian boat was intercepted in the Strait of Sicily,
the 90-mile-wide strip of sea between Sicily and Tunisia, the
northernmost country in Africa.
According to the International Organization for Migration
(IOM), a total of 67,000 migrants and asylum seekers have
reached Italy to date this year, including over 6,500
unaccompanied children.
Italian Premier Matteo Renzi has pleaded for more help from
other European countries in managing the migrants, many of whom
are heading for other parts of the continent.
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