More than 500 migrants landed on the Italian island of Lampedusa in two days, thanks to calm weather in the Mediterranean, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) announced on Friday.
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" Arrivals are up from last year, but remain low compared to two years ago, let alone those from three or four years ago, " L 'AFP Flavio Di Giacomo, IOM spokesperson.
Nine boats docked Thursday from Tunisia, with 116 passengers on board. Seven boats from the same country and two larger boats from Libya succeeded them on Friday, bringing 434 migrants to the European continent. Among the arrivals, some 362 migrants are from Bangladesh, according to IOM figures.
8000 people have arrived by sea in Italy since the beginning of 2020
If the last 48 hours have seen an unusual influx of small Tunisian boats, and it is rare to see disembark at this time of the year a boat of 260 passengers from Libya, Flavio Di Giacomo sees no warning sign of a marked increase in arrivals to Italy. " There have always been arrivals from Tunisia ... sometimes there are many, sometimes fewer, and the presence of Bangladeshis on boats departing from Libya is nothing new, " he commented.
Some 8,000 people have arrived by sea in Italy since the start of the year, more than in 2019 (3,000) at the same time of year, but much less than the year before (17,000 in 2018) . Compared to previous summers, the main difference for the candidates for the crossing is that there are " not enough patrols at sea ", according to Flavio Di Giacomo. As a result, " those who leave are at great risk ".
Interceptions by the Libyan coast guard are another danger, as migrants arrested on their way to Europe are " detained and sometimes even sent to centers where no one can enter. We don't know what is happening to them, ”said the spokesperson.
