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Italian Coast Guard on High Alert for Migrants

26 March 2011 03:23 (UTC +04:00)

Baku â€“ APA. Italy has put its coast guard on high alert for migrants crossing over from northern Africa, after rescuing a sinking boat packed with more than 80 people off the Mediterranean island of Lampedusa, APA reports quoting â€œThe Voice of Americaâ€.
Italian officials said Friday they had widened their area of surveillance and reinforced units patrolling the waters, as they prepared to receive more people fleeing the upheaval in Tunisia and Libya.
Border police gathered up the 84 migrants from their boat late Thursday night some 40 kilometers off the coast of Lampedusa.
The Italian government has said some 15,000 migrants have arrived on the small island since a popular revolt in Tunisia led to the ouster of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali in January.
Authorities on the island are trying to transfer the migrants to other holding centers around Italy to ease the crowding at Lampedusa’s immigrant center, which was built for only 800 people.