In what has become a daily occurrence in the Mediterranean coast More than 4,000 migrants have been rescued off Libya's coast in 22
separate operations in one day, with rescuers finding 17 people dead
aboard a rubber dinghy, the Italian Coast Guard said Saturday.
The rescues, from 13 wooden fishing boats and
nine motorized rubber dinghies, took place Friday. In all, 4,243 rescued
migrants were being brought to southern Italian harbors, including in
Sicily.
Smugglers are reaping millions by overcrowding unseaworthy boats with migrants
on Libya's Mediterranean coast to set out for Italian shores. The
migrants are fleeing war, persecution or poverty in Africa, the Mideast
and elsewhere.
Cargo ships and Irish and German navy vessels
helped Italian military craft in Friday's rescues. Italy has demanded
its European partners help more with the migrants, who have been coming
in huge numbers this year. Last year, Italy rescued some 170,000
migrants at sea.
The latest arrivals, following several days without rescues,
followed a pattern. When seas are rough or weather stormy, few or no
boats set out. When a spell of calm seas arrives, smugglers launch as
many boats as they can, cramming more migrants into the boats than can
safely be carried. Manny vessels soon run into difficulties. The Italian
Coast Guard coordinates rescues after receiving distress calls via
satellite phones from the migrant boats, or when the craft are spotted
by military patrol boats or aircraft.
Interior Minister Angelino Alfano warned on
Saturday migrant arrivals would continue without letup as long as Libya,
where rival governments and violent militias hold sway, is plagued by
chaos.
The high cost of rescuing and sheltering
migrants while they seek asylum is campaign fodder in Sunday's local and
regional elections in Italy. Anti-immigrant Northern League leader
Matteo Salvini urged voters to choose his party, saying that whoever
doesn't "is an accomplice of the invasion" of migrants.
Source: nbcnews
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