Police raided a migrant
reception centre in Rome on Tuesday, carrying out searches and
checking the documents of the migrants present.
Roughly 40 migrants from north Africa, Eritrea and Ethiopia
staying at the Baobab centre in Via Cupa near Tiburtina station
were taken to the central immigration office for further checks
after it emerged their paperwork was not in order.
Thirty migrants were instead allowed to remain at the
centre, which began life as a cultural association and is run
entirely by volunteers.
Around 60 police officers and carabinieri turned up with
sniffer dogs around 6.30 am local time, blocking the access
routes with armoured vehicles.
Volunteers at the centre said their guests put up little
resistance and that police had found noting in the searches.
"It is the first raid at the Baobab centre and it comes at
a specific moment in history," they said.
"But we expected recent international events to have
repercussions for our centre hosting refugees and people in
transit, some without documents. It was in the air," staff
continued.
However they reaffirmed their "concern" over "rumours" that
the centre is to be cleared "in the absence of a real
alternative for accommodating the migrants staying there".
In recent months the Baobab centre has been at the
forefront of solidarity efforts on behalf of refugees and
migrants in the capital.
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