The Governor of the Italian Island of Sardinia has raised the alarm requesting help from Rome to curb the rising influx of illegal embarcations from Algeria, which has become a new Mediterranean illegal migration route to Europe. About 800 people have made the crossing from Algeria this year, landing on beaches in Sardinia in small wooden boats after 24 hours at sea. The crackdown on illegal migration networks in Libya has pushed them to seek closer and safer routes in the Western Mediterranean such as Algeria. Yet the numbers of landings of illegal migrants from Algeria are still tiny compared to the 100,000 migrants who have reached Italy from Libya this year, and the 181,000 who successfully made the crossing last year. Besides Algeria, Morocco is also emerging as an alternative to the Libyan route.

Source: The North Africa Journal September 11, 2017 15:45 UTC