Lampedusa, an Italian island, has seen a surge in migrants, with 7,000 people arriving in two days. The island, which has a population of under 7,000, has been a significant point of entry for migrants crossing from North Africa. Mayor Filippo Mannino has declared that the migrant crisis has reached a “point of no return,” stating that the island’s role in Europe’s migration crisis has been put into crisis.
The UN refugee agency’s representative, Chiara Cardoletti, has stated that the situation on Lampedusa is critical and that moving people off the island is an absolute priority. Many of the recent migrants have fled political instability in Tunisia, with the International Organization for Migration (IOM) fearing that numbers will rise further following the catastrophic floods in Libya.
