(VOVworld) – The number of refugees fleeing to Italy through Libya has surged recently. Italy's coastguard said on Wednesday that more than 2,400 migrants and 3 corpses have been recovered from smugglers' boats off Libya in the last 48 hours. So far this year 9,500 people were reported to have landed at Italian ports. Italian authorities are worried about the sharp increase in migrants to Europe through Libya due to tighter restrictions in Greece.
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| The Italian Navy rescues migrants from boats off the coast of Sicily. (Photo: AFP/Getty Images) |
According to the UN refugee agency (UNHCR), more than 1 million refugees have arrived in Greece in the last 15 months. 60% of them were women and children. The agency called for cooperative measures to control the migrant influx and protect those escaping from war and terrorism.