Number of refugees arriving in Italy doubles compared to 2020
Max Civili
Press TV, Rome
The number of refugees arriving in Italy has picked up again after the pandemic crisis caused a sharp drop in migration flows to Europe in 2020. Italian authorities have said refugee arrivals since January have almost doubled compared to the same time last year.
On Tuesday, Italy's Interior Ministry announced that almost twice as many refugees have reached the Italian shores since the beginning of 2021 compared to last year.
About 57,000 people have landed in Italy, often on rickety boats, since January, the majority of whom are Tunisian, Bangladeshi and Egyptian.
Migration flows to Italy witnessed a sharp drop last year due to the Covid-19 pandemic with about 30,000 arrivals.
At the weekend Italy agreed to let 800 migrants disembark after they were stuck at sea aboard an overcrowded vessel for days. The vessel was carrying over 200 minors, including many children under the age of 10.
The vessel was granted authorization to dock by Italy's coast guard only hours after a charity ship had delivered urgently-needed food and blankets to the people on board. Five pregnant women were also among the rescued refugees.
About 8,000 unaccompanied minors were among the refugees who have arrived in Italy so far this year - 14 percent of the total.
The crossing of the Mediterranean sea is becoming increasingly dangerous for refugees as weather conditions are rapidly deteriorating across the region.
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