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Stranded migrants to be taken to Tunisia
74 Somali migrants who have been stranded on a Tunisian fishing boat South of Lampedusa after their rescue on Friday, will be taken to Tunisia.
19 March 2012, 12:00am
Karl Stagno-Navarra
Karl Stagno-Navarra
1 min read
A senior government spokesman has confirmed that following lengthy discussions in Rome between Maltese, Italian and Tunisian diplomats, an agreement was reached this morning for 74 Somali refugees fleeing Libya, will be taken to Sfax in Tunisia.
The migrants were rescued by the crew of fishing vessel 'Lofti' which - under the coordination of the Malta Armed Forces Rescue Centre - assisted the migrants some 40 miles south west of Lampedusa.
But while Lampedusa was coping with the arrival of some 250 migrants over the weekend, Italian authorities declared the island as an unsafe port, triggering a diplomatic row between Malta and Italy.
The Maltese Armed Forces immediately rebutted claims in the Italian media that they were ignoring distress signals, and stressed that Lampedusa had to be the closest and safest port for the migrants to be disembarked, as they were at more than 120 miles off Malta and 50 miles from Tunisia.
The impasse led to the migrants being stranded on the Lofti for three days, and were constantly shadowed by a Tunisian and an Italian patrol boat.
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This is what should be done with all illegal immigrants, including all those who are already here to send the message that they will not be allowed to land or remain in Malta. They are all simply economic migrants.
