Lampedusa overwhelmed after receiving over 1000 migrants in a day

talian Coast Guard personnel prepare to tow boats used to carry migrants, near the port of the Sicilian island of Lampedusa, southern Italy
talian Coast Guard personnel prepare to tow boats used to carry migrants, near the port of the Sicilian island of Lampedusa, southern Italy Copyright Cecilia Fabiano/LaPresse via AP
Copyright Cecilia Fabiano/LaPresse via AP
By Euronews with AP
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Italian authorities reported that just in a day and a half, more than 1500 people arrived to Lampedusa island, with 333 at the Friday morning alone.

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The president of Cyprus, Nikos Christodoulides, will meet Ursula von der Leyen on Sunday in Athens, to discuss "the exceptionally difficult situation" with the resent surge in migration to Cyprus in particular and in Mediterranean in general. On Monday, Christodoulides is to visit Lebanon to discuss the same concerns.

According to Cyprus official data, more than 800 people arrived in less than a week (March 31 - April 5), most of them en route from Lebanon. And more of that, on Friday Lebanese Interior Ministry issued a statement of refusal to "take back" migrants, as the country "is already struggling to deal with over two million Syrian migrants within its own borders". Before, Cyprus and Lebanon had an informal agreement about illegal migration issues.

Italian authorities reported that just in a day and a half, more than 1,500 people arrived to Lampedusa island, with 333 at the Friday morning alone. The island's authorities raise the alarm as hundreds has been arriving on a daily basis, overwhelming local migration facilities despite the regular transfers to other centres in Italy.

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