Around 1,000 migrants are arriving on average each day at the Italian island of Lampedusa these days, causing its reception center to be overwhelmed with over 2,500 people. Despite daily transfers to other Italian locations, the center cannot empty out.
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On Monday, approximately 1,100 migrants reached the small island, known as the gateway to Europe for those departing from North African coasts. Among the recent arrivals were 20 Tunisians, including a woman and three children, who reached Lampedusa directly without being intercepted by the Coast Guard.
Despite the massive transfers organized by the Agrigento Government Delegation, which oversees Lampedusa, and as planned by the Italian Government, there are still around 2,500 migrants in the reception center, living in extremely difficult conditions as its capacity is meant for about 400 people. By Sunday, the arrivals on the island had surpassed 1,400 individuals.
Meanwhile, the NGO Doctors Without Borders (MSF) vessel, Geo Barents, was directed to the port of Livorno after rescuing a total of 462 migrants during the weekend from 12 precarious boats crossing the central Mediterranean.
Most of the migrants arriving in Lampedusa departed from Sfax (Tunisia) and originate from Benin, Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Gambia, Mali, Guinea, Senegal, and Nigeria.
On Monday, the European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, along with the Prime Ministers of Italy and the Netherlands, Giorgia Meloni and Mark Rutte, signed a memorandum of understanding for a migration agreement in Tunisia.
According to the latest report from Frontex, the European border and coast guard agency, arrivals in the central Mediterranean have increased by 140 percent in the past six months, with an 85 percent rise in June alone.
As of July 14, the latest data provided by the Italian Interior Ministry shows that 78,182 migrants have arrived on the country's shores this year, compared to 33,187 during the same period last year.