Migration into Italy at same level as last two years

ROME, July 2 — The number of migrants arriving in Italy in the first half of this year was roughly the same as the previous two years, the interior ministry said today.

A total of 70,930 people landed in Italy between January and June — almost exactly the same number as the same period in 2015 and only slightly higher than in 2014.

The full-year total of migrant arrivals for 2015 was 153,000.

The flood of migrants seeking a new life in northern Europe has put great pressure on asylum centres in Italy, with a total of 132,000 people registered at centres at the end of June.

The closure of the Balkan route has sparked an increase in people risking perilous sea crossings via the Central Mediterranean to Italy.

A month ago, the UN’s refugee agency UNHCR said it feared some 700 migrants had drowned in three shipwrecks off the coast of Libya in late May.

More than 10,000 migrants have perished since 2014, including more than 2,800 so far this year, the UNHCR said last month.

Most recent arrivals to Italy hail from sub-Saharan Africa — 15 per cent from Nigeria, and 13 per cent from Eritrea.

Others came from Gambia, Ivory Coast, Guinea, Sudan, Somalia, Senegal and Mali.

Italian interior ministry figures to June 17 say 8,553 unaccompanied minors have arrived so far this year compared to 12,360 across 2015 and 13,026 for 2014 as a whole. — AFP

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