Italy and Malta rescue more than 2,000 migrants off Libyan coast

Italian and Maltese rescue vessels saved more than 2,000 migrants off the Libyan coast on the 15 February 2015 in a massive operation. Italy called for more international help to rescue asylum seekers making the perilous Mediterranean journey.

The Italian transport ministry said some of its coastguards had been threatened by four armed men who approached them by speedboat from the Libyan coast, demanding the return of one of the vessels that had brought the migrants.

News sources on the 17 February 2015 reported that Italian authorities on the island of Lampedusa were attempting to process more than 1,200 newly-arrived migrants in a reception centre designed for a third of that number.

• Primary Source

The Local.it, 16.02.15: Italy rescues more than 2,000 migrants off Libya http://www.thelocal.it/20150216/italy-rescues-more-than-2000-migrants-of-libya

ESO: Backgroud information: IOM Fears Over 300 African Migrants Drown En Route to Europe http://www.europeansources.info/record/iom-fears-over-300-african-migrants-drown-en-route-to-europe/

ESO: Background information: Questions and Answers: Smuggling of Migrants in Europe and the EU response http://www.europeansources.info/record/memo-questions-and-answers-smuggling-of-migrants-in-europe-and-the-eu-response/

ESO: Background information: Hundreds rescued from cargo ship abandoned in Greek waters http://www.europeansources.info/record/hundreds-rescued-from-cargo-ship-abandoned-in-greek-waters/

BBC News, 15.02.15: Italians rescue more than 2,000 Mediterranean migrants http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-31481792

BBC News, 17.02.15: Lampedusa migrant centre conditions 'desperate' after rescues http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-31501782

The Local.it, 17.02.15: Tiny Italian island swamped by migrant tide http://www.thelocal.it/20150217/tiny-italian-island-swamped-by-migrant-tide

EUObserver, 18.02.15: [Opinion]: Lampedusa tragedy: An SOS the EU can no longer ignore https://euobserver.com/opinion/127698

Caritas Europa: News, 10.02.15: Another migrant tragedy strikes Lampedusa http://www.caritas.eu/news/another-migrant-tragedy-strikes-lampedusa

The Local.it, 20.02.15: Fears of fresh migrant wave amid Libya danger http://www.thelocal.it/20150220/fears-of-fresh-migrant-wave-amid-libya-chaos

Corriere della Sera, 17.02.15: Militias Use Refugee Landings to Fuel Chaos] Militias Use Refugee Landings to Fuel Chaos http://www.corriere.it/english/15_febbraio_17/militias-use-refugee-landings-to-fuel-chaos-b8c2abdc-b696-11e4-a17f-176fb2d476c2.shtml

The Malta Independent, 23.02.15: Malta must remain neutral on Libya (via Euro|Topics) http://www.eurotopics.net/en/home/presseschau/archiv/aehnliche/archiv_article/ARTICLE158851-Malta-must-remain-neutral-on-Libya

ESO: Information Guide: European Migration Challenges http://www.europeansources.info/record/information-guide-european-migration-challenges/

---