ROME: Two boats carrying more than 400 African migrants arrived on the tiny Italian island of Lampedusa on Saturday, the latest in a wave of thousands of undocumented migrants arriving from North African shores.
The boats were intercepted overnight by Italian coast guards in open sea south of the rocky outcrop, which is closer to Africa than to the Italian mainland.
The first boat carried 218 sub-Saharan migrants including seven women. The second boat, which was some 20 meters (66 feet) long, had around 220 people including 20 women, Italian news agency ANSA reported, citing the coast guard.
Most of the recent Lampedusa arrivals have been on boats coming from Libya.
Migrants are usually taken to a small facility on Lampedusa and then to centers for asylum-seekers and undocumented migrants in other parts of Italy.
The charity Save the Children on Thursday said the situation was “chaotic,” with 722 migrants still on the island including 102 women and 15 unaccompanied minors, and urged the government to transfer them to better accommodation.
Tens of thousands of migrants landed on Italian shores last year in the wake of the Arab Spring uprisings. Thousands more have arrived this year despite Italy’s calls for Tunisia and Libya to step up their maritime border controls.
Hundreds have died over the past two years in the perilous Mediterranean crossings, when their heavily overcrowded dinghies and fishing boats capsized or sank in stormy weather or were cast adrift due to engine failure.
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400 African migrants arrive on Italian island
400 African migrants arrive on Italian island
Egypt 'won’t hesitate' to help preserve Sudan's unity
- Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty says Cairo 'will not allow under any circumstances' collapse of its neighbor
- Egypt supports the Sudanese army, which has been fighting the paramilitary RSF since April 2023
CAIRO: Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty said on Wednesday that Cairo would take all necessary measures to preserve Sudan’s unity, as the neighboring country approaches its fourth year of war between the army and its paramilitary rivals.
Speaking at a press conference with the UN secretary-general’s special envoy for Sudan, Ramtane Lamamra, Abdelatty said Egypt “will not stand idly by and will not hesitate to take the necessary measures in a way that preserves Sudan, its unity and territorial integrity.”
Egypt shares its southern border with Sudan, and is one of the closest allies of the Sudanese army, which has been fighting the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) since April 2023.
Abdelatty said that Egypt “will not accept and will not allow under any circumstances the collapse of Sudan, the collapse of Sudanese national institutions or harming the unity of Sudan.”
“These are red lines,” he continued, adding that “a violation to Sudan’s national security is a violation of Egypt’s national security.”
The foreign minister’s comments echoed remarks made by President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi during a meeting last month with Sudan’s army chief and de facto leader, Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan.
At the meeting, El-Sisi had also described any threat to Sudanese state institutions as a “red line for Egypt.”
A statement from his office added that Cairo reserved the “full right to take all necessary measures under international law,” including potentially activating a joint defense agreement.
Egypt and Sudan have a long-standing history of military cooperation. In March 2021, they signed an agreement covering training, border security and joint efforts against shared threats, building on a 1976 defense pact aimed at countering external dangers.
Speaking at a press conference with the UN secretary-general’s special envoy for Sudan, Ramtane Lamamra, Abdelatty said Egypt “will not stand idly by and will not hesitate to take the necessary measures in a way that preserves Sudan, its unity and territorial integrity.”
Egypt shares its southern border with Sudan, and is one of the closest allies of the Sudanese army, which has been fighting the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) since April 2023.
Abdelatty said that Egypt “will not accept and will not allow under any circumstances the collapse of Sudan, the collapse of Sudanese national institutions or harming the unity of Sudan.”
“These are red lines,” he continued, adding that “a violation to Sudan’s national security is a violation of Egypt’s national security.”
The foreign minister’s comments echoed remarks made by President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi during a meeting last month with Sudan’s army chief and de facto leader, Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan.
At the meeting, El-Sisi had also described any threat to Sudanese state institutions as a “red line for Egypt.”
A statement from his office added that Cairo reserved the “full right to take all necessary measures under international law,” including potentially activating a joint defense agreement.
Egypt and Sudan have a long-standing history of military cooperation. In March 2021, they signed an agreement covering training, border security and joint efforts against shared threats, building on a 1976 defense pact aimed at countering external dangers.
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