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ROME,
September 5, 2009 – 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 kilometers (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 coastguard.
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.
Source: AFP, August 31, 2009
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