A rubber dinghy with would-be immigrants as they are approached by members of the Armed Forces of Malta
ROME — Italian coastguards on Sunday turned back a boatload of 75 migrants off the coast of the island of Sicily, news agency ANSA reported.
The migrants, thought to be Somali, were travelling in a rubber dinghy which was intercepted by coastguards around 44 kilometres (27 miles) from the shores of the Italian island.
The group, which included 15 women and three children, was transferred to a an Italian police patrol boat and sent back immediately for Libya.
One of the migrants was taken to a Sicilian hospital to be treated for broken ribs.
They were the latest group of migrants to be stopped on the approach to Italy and sent back to the north African country since Tripoli and Rome reached a controversial agreement earlier this year.
Under the accord, Libya has agreed take back migrants leaving from its shores and heading to Italy illegally.
The Maltese army said that earlier Sunday four migrants were transferred from the same boat to the island’s capital Valletta for medical treatment.
The two men, a woman and a young child were taken to hospital after the boat was spotted in Maltese waters by a helicopter from Frontex, a European mission set up to combat illegal migration, an army spokesman said.
After the sick migrants were removed, the rest of the party continued on towards Italy where they were picked up by the Italian coasguard.
According to an estimate by news agency ANSA, around 1,000 migrants have been sent back to Libya by Italy since the agreement was reached.
The UN refugee agency said it was thought the migrants were from Somalia, where Islamist rebels are waging a fierce campaign against the government.
“According to initial information, the migrants are originally from Somalia, a country which has been gripped by total anarchy for around 20 years, a situation which particularly affects the civilian population,” said Laura Boldrini, a spokeswoman for the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi on Sunday kicked off a visit to former Italian colony Libya Sunday, to mark one year since the countries signed a friendship accord.
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Source: AFP
