Migrants reported that 12
people were killed in a fight that broke out between Christians
and Muslims on a boat fleeing from Libya as the European
Commission admitted Thursday that the migrant situation is
deteriorating.
Police in Sicily subsequently arrested 15 people on
suspicion of multiple murder based on information collected from
other migrants.
In a separate situation, police said they arrested alleged
human traffickers suspected of throwing migrants overboard in
the Strait of Sicily as they fled North Africa for Europe.
It was not immediately clear if the victims were dead or
alive, but earlier reports said one dead man was thrown to
sharks to keep them away from a migrant boat.
Meanwhile, 41 bodies and just four survivors were found by
Navy searchers who arrived Thursday morning in the port of
Trapani.
The survivors said their group of 45 people had left
Tripoli in North Libya on a raft.
War-torn Libya is a frequent embarcation point for migrants
fleeing violence in parts of Africa as well as the Middle East.
Almost all are headed for different parts of Europe but
Italy is the closest landing point.
In recent days, some 10,000 migrants have been rescued from
the sea, mostly between Libya and Italy.
The EC admitted Thursday that the crisis is deteriorating
quickly.
"The situation in the Mediterranean is serious and it will
get worse in the coming weeks and months," said European
Commission spokesperson Natasha Bertaud.
Italy, which has seen a sharp increase this year in the
already large flow of migrants heading to its coast, has
repeatedly complained it is not getting enough help from Europe.
Authorities here are braced for arrivals to accelerate
further as weather and sea conditions have been improving with
the arrival of spring.
"We have to be frank," added Bertaud.
"The commission cannot do everything on its own. We don't
have the magic wand because we don't have the funds or political
support (to do more)".
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