Libya refugees arrive in Lampedusa

In the first mass arrivals since violence broke out in Libya, some 2,000 Africans have landed on Italian island.

Around 2,000 African migrants fleeing violence in Libya have arrived on the Italian island of Lampedusa since yesterday (27 March), according to local authorities. The tiny island, which lies closer to Tunisia than to Sicily, already hosts some 5,000 Tunisians, part of a wave of close to 20,000 who have arrived since mid-January. Most of the arrivals have been transferred to Sicily or the Italian mainland.

The Italian government warned that it would start deporting Tunisians in the coming days unless the Tunisian authorities took urgent action to prevent more departures.

Unlike most of the Tunisians who have made it to Italy, the Africans from Libya are thought to be refugees from persecution in Eritrea, Ethiopia and Sudan. They are expected to be transferred to reception centres in Sicily.

The European Commission today called on Italy to ensure that asylum-seekers receive international protection, saying that protection was of “paramount” concern. “There are clear procedures in place in the member states to deal with asylum-seekers,” a Commission spokesman said today.

Under a bilateral 2009 deal with Libya, Italy deported Africans intercepted at sea to Libya without checking their protection needs. It is unclear whether the arrivals this weekend include such cases. Aid agencies had been warning since 2009 that the refugees lived in perilous conditions in Libya.

Black Africans have been attacked by Libyan insurgents on suspicion of being mercenaries for the regime of Muammar Qaddafi, which is fighting for its survival.

Roberto Maroni, Italy’s interior minister, said last week that the government expected as many as 50,000 refugees from Libya.

Frontex, the EU’s border management agency, extended its assistance to Italy’s coast guard and border authorities until the end of August. Frontex began operating on Lampedusa on 20 February following an Italian request.