Italian guards block migrants
2008-06-23 20:13
Rome - Italian coast guards on Monday intercepted six small boats off the southern Italian island of Lampedusa with a total of 276 people on board, said the service's regional headquarters at Palermo.
At least 30 women and five children were among the migrants stopped, according to the Ansa news agency, although the figure was not yet confirmed by coast guards.
Italian shores, especially the small island of Lampedusa, south of Sicily, are a favourite destination for those making the perilous crossing from Libya and other parts of North Africa in the hope of a new life in Europe.
Questioned on the influx of illegal migrants Italian Interior Minister Roberto Maroni said the next meeting between Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi would be "very important," according to the Il Giornale daily.
Reduce the problem
"If the head of the government convinces him to implement agreements, the question of arrivals at Lampedusa will be roughly solved," the paper quoted him as saying on Monday.
Maroni said that almost all the illegal migrants "pass through Libya," adding that Italy was in a position to provide the Libyans with the technology to help them reduce the problem.
Rome and Tripoli signed an agreement last December under which Italian naval vessels patrol off the Libyan coast with Libyan sailors aboard to combat illegal immigration.
Berlusconi was due to travel to Tripoli before the end of June although the visit has yet to be confirmed.