Italian Navy
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) praised the rescue of 1,123 African migrants by the Italian navy in the operation Mare Nostrum .
The migrants, including 47 women and 18 children, had departed from Libya with boats at the beginning of this week. After arriving with six boats on Thursday morning, the migrants received primary care in the port of Augusta and await to be transferred to other places in Italy.
Since its launch on October 14, the sea rescue mission Mare Nostrum has picked up 9,183 migrants and asylum seekers off the coast of Italy.
“Italy has always been known for its commitment to naval rescue missions,” said Laurens Jolles, UNHCR Executive Officer for Southern Europe “Operations Mare Nostrum is an important expansion of logistics and has undoubtedly helped to prevent renewed tragedies such as those experienced in October off the coast of Lampedusa .”
Since the beginning of 2014, the number of arrivals by sea has increased compared to the same period last year.
However, these figures are still provisional and therefore should not create overreaction, but instead prepare authorities to take all the necessary steps to be able to manage ordinary migration flows.
The UNHCR stressed once more that the arrivals by sea in recent years are caused by both economic migration and migration due to war and persecution.
In 2013 over 50 % of people arriving at the Italian coast were from Syria, Eritrea and Somalia.
