'Have Reached Point Of No Return': 7,000 Migrants Arrive On Italy Island, PM Meloni Seeks Belgium's Help

Lampedusa Island witnessed an influx of migrants after around 7,000 people arrived from North Africa in two days.

A view of crowd outside of the hotspot as nearly 7,000 irregular migrants arrive in Lampedusa island of Italy.

Source : Getty

Italy’s Lampedusa Island witnessed an influx of migrants after around 7,000 people arrived from North Africa in two days. Following this, Lampedusa mayor Filippo Mannino and the United Nations refugee agency warned that the Italian island is becoming overwhelmed.

The number of arriving migrants is greater than the permanent population of the island. Mannino said on Thursday that the migrant crisis had reached a "point of no return." "In the past 48 hours, around 7,000 people have arrived on my island, an island that has always welcomed and saved in its arms," Mannino told Italy’s RTL 102.5 radio.

"Now we have reached a point of no return where the role played by this small rock in the middle of the Mediterranean has been put into crisis by the dramatic nature of this phenomenon," the mayor said. The UN refugee agency’s (UNHCR) Representative for Italy, the Holy See, and San Marino, Chiara Cardoletti, on Friday termed the situation on Lampedusa "critical" and stated that moving people off the island is "an absolute priority," as per CNN.

Cardoletti stated that "urgent action" was underway to "bring the island back to normality," CNN reported. The authorities have transferred around 5,000 people off the island in the last 28 hours. According to CNN, many of the people who arrived recently have fled political instability in Tunisia.

Italian PM Meloni Calls On Brussels To Help Relieve "Unsustainable" Pressure

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has called on Brussels to help relieve the "unsustainable" pressure on her country, as reported by news agency AFP. On Friday, Meloni called for the European Union to act jointly "with a naval mission if necessary" to prevent migrants crossing the Mediterranean from North Africa, as per news agency Reuters.

In a video message shared by Meloni on social media, she promised to take tough action in response to a surge in the arrival of migrants this week in Lampedusa.

Meloni stated that she had written to European Council President Charles Michel and asked him to put immigration on the agenda of an EU summit in October. "I intend to reiterate a request for an immediate EU mission to block the departure of migrant boats," said Meloni, as quoted by Reuters.

Meloni said that she will be holding a cabinet meeting on Monday to pass emergency measures, including asking the army to build larger reception centres to house illegal immigrants and extending the time limit for which they can be detained, as per Reuters.