Italy rescues 4,000 boat migrants in 48 hours
Migrants after a January rescue operation by the Italian navy off the coast of Sicily. Photograph: Handout/ReutersThe Italian navy rescued more than 4,000 migrants in 48 hours from several overcrowded boats run by "merchants of death" in the Mediterranean between Tuesday and Wednesday morning, Reuters reported.
Interior Minister Angelino Alfano told Italian state radio Wednesday that migrant rescues and landings have been "non-stop" and the migrant emergency is getting worse.
He is demanding the European Union do more to help police Mediterranean waters, saying tens of millions of dollars have failed to solve the problem.
Italy is a main gateway to Europe for African migrants seeking to escape war, poverty, and political turmoil.
The country began a permanent sea rescue operation late last year, after more than 400 migrants died in two shipwrecks off Italian shores.
Alfano condemned those who arrange the perilous trip across the sea from North Africa as "merchants of death."
He said about 15,000 migrants have arrived this year in Italy, and hundreds of thousands more are ready to board smuggling boats in Libya.
Source: Agencies
The Times of Earth ( TOE) founded in 1999, is a multilingual newspaper that is printed and circulated in many countries including some parts of the United States and Canada. It is considered as the largest trusted & respected international multimedia news/financial information source of the world.