ROME (AP) — The Italian navy on Saturday began relocating the first 600 migrants from the Sicilian island of Lampedusa after its refugee identification center became overwhelmed with new arrivals and photos circulated of filthy conditions. July has seen a sustained uptick in daily migrant arrivals in Italy compared to recent years, according to Interior Ministry statistics. Overall, migrant arrivals are up sharply this year, with 30,000 would-be refugees making landfall so far compared to 22,700 in the same period in 2021 and 7,500 in 2020. The Italian navy’s San Marco ship was taking an initial 600 migrants from Lampedusa to another center in Sicily and from there they were be distributed elsewhere in Italy. “There are 2,100 people packed in the Lampedusa welcome center,” which has beds for 200, she wrote on Facebook.

Source: The North Africa Journal July 09, 2022 22:28 UTC