ROME, July 09, 2013 (AFP)
Hundreds of migrants were intercepted by Italian, Libyan and Maltese border guards on Tuesday on several boats leaving from Libya, a day after Pope Francis called for more solidarity with the refugees.
Italy’s coast guard said in a statement it had scrambled cargo vessels that were in the area to help out during the nighttime operation to rescue 303 migrants on three boats that were in difficulty.
The Italian navy said it had also rescued a fourth vessel that had found itself in a “critical” situation, with around 40 people on board.
There were reports of more boats landing on Lampedusa, the Italian island visited by the pope on Monday, which is closer to Africa than to the rest of Italy.
A boat with 102 migrants including two babies was also intercepted by Maltese armed forces. They said they were in distress and were given food and water.
Malta has called for greater assistance from the rest of the European Union to deal with migrant arrivals, warning that it may be forced to send them back.
Italian media reported that another boat was intercepted by Libyan border patrol before it left Libyan waters.
Francis visited Lampedusa on Monday.
The tiny island, Italy’s southernmost point, has seen tens of thousands of asylum-seekers land since the start of the Arab Spring revolutions in 2011.
Dozens and sometimes hundreds of migrants drown every year trying to reach European shores.
Many recent arrivals are from Eritrea and Somalia
