A boy rescued by SOS Mediterranee aboard the humanitarian organisation’s ship on its way to the Italian coast, April 2017. Increasing co-operation between the EU and Libya has sharply curtailed the activities of the rescue organisations, making the Mediterranean more deadly / Photo: SOS Mediterranee

Migrant arrivals in Italy fall by 34 per cent in 2017

The number of migrants who arrived in Italy in 2017 went down by one-third compared to 2016, according to figures just published by the Italian interior ministry. A reported 6,340 irregular migrants were repatriated from Italy in 2017, according to the data.

Migrant landings in Italy dropped by 34.24 per cent in 2017 compared to 2016, the Italian interior ministry said on Tuesday. The total number of migrants who arrived in 2017 was 119,310 from 181,436 in the previous year, according to the ministry, which released the statistics on immigration and security in 2017.

Landings down 73 per cent in December

Landings in Italy went down 73 per cent in December alone, from 8,428 in the full month of December to 2,268 over the same period in 2017, the interior ministry said. As far as repatriations are concerned, 6,340 foreigners without regular documentation were sent back to their home countries in 2017 compared to 5,300 the previous year, up 19.6 percent.

Expulsions for security reasons up 62 per cent

Expulsions for security reasons, in connection with international terror probes, were a reported 105, including five imams, in 2017, compared to 66 (including eight imams) in 2016, up 62 per cent. The suspected religious extremists arrested by police were 36, a 9 per cent increase on 2016 when 33 such detentions were reported.

A total of 129 foreign fighters were monitored in 2017 – including 42 who died on the battleground and 24 who travelled back to Europe – against 116 in 2016 – when 34 died and 20 returned to Europe – that’s an increase of 11 per cent.

© ANSA

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