First Libyan refugees arrive in Lampedusa

The first boats carrying hundreds of African refugees from Libya have arrived on the southern Italian island of Lampedusa, already overcrowded by Tunisian migrants who have left their country in search for a better life in Europe.

In the early hours of Sunday (27 March), one boat carrying 284 people, mostly Eritreans, Ethiopians and Somalis, was escorted by the Italian coast guard to Linosa, an even smaller island in the vicinity of Lampedusa. Other boats have been detected by fisherm...