 At least 15,000 illegal immigrants may soon reach the European Union via the Mediterranean Sea as relations between Italy and Libya turned sour, Corriere della Sera reported yesterday. According to the Italian daily, which quotes diplomatic sources in Tripoli, Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi is furious with Silvio Berlusconi's government for failing to honour a number of agreements and is threatening to relax the country's emigration controls. The result could be thousands of African and Asian immigrants being allowed to leave Libyan ports and sail to Italy over the coming weeks. | They'll get asylum, of course. Wonder how many will 'wander' into the mosques of Rome, Milan and Naples? |
The threat comes amid reports that 16 immigrants were feared to have drowned on Tuesday after their small boat capsized in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, about 60 nautical miles north of Libya and 160 nautical miles south of the Italian island. |