ROME (AP) — Many of the 150 migrants stranded aboard a coast guard ship for a ninth day began a hunger strike Friday out of frustration that Italy won’t let them disembark in Sicily unless fellow European Union nations first pledge to take them, authorities said, in the latest standoff provoked by Italy’s anti-migrant interior minister.
After a period of relative calm, African migrants have begun arriving en masse into Italy once again, crossing through Tunisia now that Libya has become virtually impassable.
GAETA, Italy (AP) – Italy has given the Libyan coast guard the first two of 10 boats to rescue migrants from foundering smugglers’ boats, as part of a strategy Rome hopes will reduce the huge numbers of the rescued from reaching
More than 4,600 people have been plucked to safety from unseaworthy boats off the Libyan coast over the past three days, the Italian coastguard said Sunday, as migrants took advantage of calmer waters to attempt the perilous journey across the
Over 1,800 migrants were rescued Monday from six vessels found adrift in the Mediterranean, off the coast of Libya, Italy’s coast guard said. A total of 1,830 people were brought ashore in six different operations to save passengers in four
In a daring July 21 rescue operation, the Italian Coast Guard rescued 414 migrants lost at sea, including four newborn babies. The rescues occurred between 25 and 35 miles from the Libyan coast, and the migrants were spread across four boats.
Over the weekend, nearly 6,000 migrants were rescued by an array of European military vessels, including 2,371 who were saved on Sunday from 15 boats that ran into difficulty shortly after smugglers set off with them from Libyan shores, the Italian coast guard said.
