EU must help Italy with migrant influx – UN

The UN refugee agency said on the 11 April 2014 that the Italian navy had rescued some 6,000 people who had set out from Libya in overcrowded boats over the previous four days alone.

They had set off from Zwara in Libya, and many were fleeing violence, conflict and persecution. Most of them came originally from Syria, Eritrea, Somalia, Nigeria, Gambia, Mali and Senegal.

The EU must help Italy to deal with the dramatic upsurge in migrants and refugees, the UNHCR said.

Subsequent reports continued to report of continuous attempts by migrants to cross by sea from North Africa to Italy (and other countries such as Malta and Greece).

• Primary Source

UN: UNHCR: News Stories, 11.04.14: Italy rescues 6,000 people crossing Mediterranean in four days http://www.unhcr.org/5347d8fa9.html

The Guardian, 09.04.14: 4,000 immigrants reach Italy by boat in 48 hours – as minister calls for EU help http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/apr/09/4000-immigrants-italy-boat-48-hours-eu-help

ESO: Background information: 4,000 immigrants reach Italy by boat in 48 hours – as minister calls for EU help http://www.europeansources.info/record/4000-immigrants-reach-italy-by-boat-in-48-hours-as-minister-calls-for-eu-help/

Migreurop: Press Release, 09.04.14: 4th EU-Africa summit – EU-Africa Migration policies : the deadly obliviousness of heads of state http://www.migreurop.org/article2499.html?lang=fr

ESO: Background information: Italian navy rescues thousands of African migrants / Migrants rescued off Italy and Greece http://www.europeansources.info/record/italian-navy-rescues-thousands-of-african-migrants-migrants-rescued-off-italy-and-greece/

ESO: Background information: EU-Africa Summit 2014 (Brussels, 2-3 April 2014) http://www.europeansources.info/record/eu-africa-summit-2014-brussels-2-3-april-2014/

Spiegel Online International, 15.04.14: Europe's African Refugee Crisis: Is the Boat Really Full? http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/european-refugee-crisis-worsens-in-mediterranean-a-964304.html

EUObserver, 23.04.14: Italian right calls for end to migrant rescue programme http://euobserver.com/news/123904

Corriere della Sera, 13.05.14: Lampedusa: EU shirks responsibility (via Euro|Topics) http://www.eurotopics.net/en/home/presseschau/archiv/aehnliche/archiv_article/ARTICLE143306-Lampedusa-EU-shirks-responsibility

Deutsche Welle, 12.05.14: Italian media report deadly shipwreck of migrant boat between Libya and Lampedusa http://dw.de/p/1ByOx

EUObserver, 15.05.14: Italian MEP candidates scaremongering on immigration [Opinion] http://euobserver.com/opinion/124117

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