At least 800,000 migrants are
about to depart the North African coast for Europe, with Italy's
reception system already at the point of collapse, officials in
Rome said Tuesday.
"We no longer have a place to take them, and locals are
overwhelmed by the constant arrival of foreigners," border
police chief Giovanni Pinto told a joint meeting of the foreign
and defence committees in the Senate.
Italy is appealing for international help.
During a cabinet meeting on the Mare Nostrum sea patrol and
rescue mission in the Mediterranean on Monday, Premier Matteo
Renzi vowed to request more commitment from the European Union
and the United Nations on tackling undocumented immigration.
Mare Nostrum was set up to prevent deaths at sea following
two migrant ship disasters in October 2013 in which around 400
people died.
According to Interior Minister Angelino Alfano, more than
20,500 migrants have already landed on Italy's coasts to date
this year - an enormous increase over the 2,500 reported during
the same period in 2013.
Speaking before a committee on the country's borders
earlier this month, Alfano stressed that the number of incoming
migrants was on pace "to reach the record levels of 2011, when
more than 62,000 people entered".
Thousands more have arrived since he spoke earlier this
month, heightening the concerns about Italy's ability to cope.
Opponents of Mare Nostrum have argued the program only
encourages migrants to risk their lives and cross the
Mediterranean, often in rickety, overcrowded boats, which tends
to increase in spring and summer months as sea conditions
improve.
On Tuesday, Pinto told the Senate committees the situation
was partly the result of the failed government in Libya, where
most migrants from Africa head before setting sail for Europe.
"We aren't dealing with a government that can establish
treaties. We have no interlocutors...There's no prime
minister...there are no ministers. There are two clans. One
that's more moderate, the other that's extremist, backed by
Qatar. We can offer them all the help they want, but it might be
used in a negative way," the border police chief said.
Meanwhile, Pinto said the interior ministry was drafting a
plan that would accomodate 50,000 incoming migrants.
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