Italian Interior Minister
Angelino Alfano said Thursday al-Qaeda terrorists could be among
immigrants landing in Italy after embarking from the Libyan
coast.
''No one is able to rule it out. Certainly our vigilance is
extremely high,'' Alfano said at the end of a meeting of
European interior ministers in Luxembourg.
Alfano, who also heads up the New Centre Right (NCD) party,
warned that Italy could not continue to shoulder the costs of
patrolling and saving lives in the southern Mediterranean alone.
''Italy can not pay the bill for instability in Libya alone
and we have reiterated that the operation Mare Nostrum can not
last forever,'' said Alfano, referring to a programme set up by
the administration of ex-premier Enrico Letta to prevent further
deaths at sea following two migrant ship disasters in October
2013 in which at least 400 people died.
''Saving lives is important, but that does not mean we have
to always do it ourselves and forever by ourselves,'' said
Alfano.
Pressing for assistance with the costs of dealing with
immigrants will be a ''theme'' for Italy when it assumes the
six-month duty presidency of the European Union in July.
Italy's southernmost shores, especially the islands of
Lampedusa and Sicily, are the first points of arrival for
migrants arriving from the Middle East and North Africa crowded
on to flimsy boats and rafts.
Alfano last week said almost 40,000 migrants have landed on
Italian shores to date this year - almost as many as the total
for all of last year.
Alfano called for increased resources for the European
Union's border management agency Frontex, which helps to patrol
the southern borders, and said it should move its headquarters
to Italy.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © Copyright ANSA
