The year 2017 marked what Italian authorities hope was a turning point in the nation's struggle to manage a chaotic and deadly rush of migrants to its shores. Still, the situation as 2017 closes, is vastly different than the first half of the year. It seemed to pay off as in early December, with the Libyan navy saying a total of 80,000 migrants were rescued or intercepted in 2017. Safe corridorsItaly has continued to press its contacts in Libya to push ahead with another prong of its migrant policy. As far as refugees, Italy last week became the first country to welcome a group of 162 Ethiopian, Somali and Yemeni refugees flown in directly from Libya.

Source: Libya Today December 30, 2017 11:26 UTC