Italian navy rescues 4,000 migrants off coastline

Nearly 4,000 migrants were picked up by the Italian navy after they were attempting to reach the Italian coastline from North Africa. Helicopters, patrol boats and frigates were part of the combined rescue operation near Sicily. A large majority of the people reaching Italy are refugees from war and tyranny in Syria, Eritrea and Somalia, so they have a good case for claiming asylum. Five Italian warships are dedicated full time to Operation Mare Nostrum—which costs US$9.8 million per month and was started in October 2013, after 360 migrants drowned off the Sicilian island of Lampedusa.

We do not want a sea of death.

Rear-Admiral Michele Saponaro

The Mare Nostrum task force was launched to rescue refugees in boats and arrest traffickers. An estimated 20,000 people went down with their boats before reaching Italy in the past decade. Critics say the navy is increasing Italy’s problem as the first port of call for over half the undocumented immigrants entering the European Union. However, many asylum seekers do not want to stay in Italy, which is in the grips of an economic crisis and has high unemployment rates. Preferably, they are seeking to move on to more prosperous EU countries.

Europe