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WORLD NEWS Monday 13 March 2023

Italy estimates 680K migrants might cross sea from Libya

By FRANCES D'EMILIO
Associated Press
ROME (AP) — Intelligence
reports indicate nearly
700,000 migrants are in Lib-
ya awaiting an opportunity
to set out by sea toward
Italy, a lawmaker from Pre-
mier Giorgia Meloni's far-
right party said Sunday,
but a U.N. migration offi-
cial called the number not
credible.
Tommaso Foti, the lower
parliamentary house whip
for the Brothers of Italy Par-
ty, told television channel
Tgcom24 the Italian secret
services estimated that
685,000 migrants in Libya,
many of them in detention
camps, were eager to sail Police check a fishing boat with some 500 migrants in the southern Italian port of Crotone, early
Saturday, March 11, 2023.
across the central Mediter- Associated Press
ranean Sea in smugglers'
boats. an Union meeting later this years, that turned out to be rubber dinghies toward
Separately, 30 migrants month yields concrete soli- mistaken'' Di Giacomo said. Italian shores. Italian gov-
were missing and 17 were darity from fellow leaders "That number doesn't seem ernments have trained and
rescued some 100 nautical of EU nations in managing to be absolutely credible." equipped the Libyan coast
miles (180 kilometers) from the large numbers of mi- Some 105,000 migrants guard.
Libya's coast after their grants and asylum-seekers reached Italy by sea in But the traffickers behind
boat overturned while a who come to countries on 2022. the smuggling rings contin-
commercial vessel was try- the Mediterranean's rim, From the start of this year ue to operate amid Libya's
ing to take them aboard, including Greece, Cyprus, through March 10, some amid feuding political and
the Italian coast guard re- Malta and Spain as well as 17,600 arrived, including a militant factions.
ported Sunday night. Italy. few thousand who disem- The International Organi-
Stressing that the capsiz- "Europe can't look the oth- barked at Italian ports in zation for Migration and
ing happened outside er way," Foti said. the last several days. That's humanitarian groups say
Italy's area of search-and- While the intelligence ser- about triple the number passengers whose vessels
rescue responsibility, the vices assessment sparked for the same time period are turned back by the
coast guard said several alarming headlines in Italy, in each of the two previ- Libyan coast guard often
other merchant vessels a spokesperson for the In- ous years, although the are returned to detention
were helping to look for the ternational Organization COVID-19 pandemic might camps, where they are at
boat's missing passengers. for Migration cautioned have led to fewer voyages. risk of abuse, including tor-
The humanitarian group that the figure appeared On Sunday, three more ture, until their families raise
Alarm Phone signaled to It- to be confusing the high bodies were found from a enough money for the mi-
aly's national coordination end of the estimated num- Feb. 26 shipwreck just off- grants to set out again by
center and to Libyan and ber of migrants in Libya with shore the Italian peninsula, sea.
Maltese authorities on Sat- those who were actually raising the known death Meloni's government has
urday that the boat with 47 seeking to head from there toll in that disaster to 79 mi- made it harder for humani-
people on board needed to Europe. grants, Italian state TV said. tarian organizations that
assistance. "This number seems to be A wooden boat that had operate rescue boats to
Libyan authorities, citing an estimate, that we also sailed from Turkey ran into carry out many rescues in
"lack of naval assets avail- give, of the total presence sandbank in rough seas off the waters off Libya, adopt-
ability," contacted the in Libya,'' Flavio Di Gia- a beach in Calabria, the ing rules that force the ves-
Rome-based maritime aid como told The Associated toe of the Italian peninsula. sels to disembark migrants
coordination center, which Press in Rome. There were 80 survivors, and in northern Italian ports, de-
sent a satellite message But of that number "only an undetermined number laying their return to sea.
about an emergency to a minimum part want to of people were believed to However many migrants
all ships in the area, ac- leave and only a minimum be missing and presumed actually set out from Libya
cording to the Italian coast part succeeds in leaving" dead. on smugglers' boats, it "is
guard statement. for Europe, Di Giacomo Meloni's government has a worrisome humanitarian
It said the commercial mo- said. For example, many rebuffed criticism that the flow because people die
torboat that took on the migrants in Libya come coast guard should have at sea,'' said IOM spokes-
17 survivors was headed from Niger and Chad, two been sent out to rescue the person Di Giacomo.
for Italy but would first stop African nations on Libya's boat's passengers when The U.N. migration agen-
in Malta to disembark two southern border, and even- the vessel first was spotted cy estimates that some
people in urgent need of tually return to their home- farther off the coast. 300 people have died this
medical care. A spokes- lands, he said. For years, Italy has tried with year, or were missing and
person for the Libyan coast The Italian intelligence ser- limited success to induce presumed dead, after at-
guard did not respond to a vice's estimate "is the last of Libya to stop launches of tempting to cross the peril-
request for comment a long series of alarms that people smugglers' unsea- ous central Mediterranean
Meloni is hoping a Europe- we've seen in the last 10, 12 worthy fishing boats and route.q