It was a weekend of tension at the CAS migrant reception center in Monastir in Sardinia, with clashes between migrants and against police. One migrant was injured.
Tension was high among migrants at the CAS reception center in Monastir, Sardinia, over the weekend.
On Sunday, a clash took place and a migrant was injured, following tensions and clashes during the night between Friday and Saturday, in which objects were thrown at law enforcement.
On Saturday 30 migrants arrived at the facility after disembarking on the island's southern shore, said Vincenzo Chianese, secretary-general of ES police union.
"Despite our documented complaints of episodes of daily violence and possession of bladed weapons, nothing has changed at the CAS in Monastir," Chianese said.
"Tension among migrants on Sunday led to a true fight during which one of the migrants suffered cut wounds, luckily not serious. If the situation stays like this, it will only be a question of time before something irreparable occurs," he said.
Call for distancing coronavirus-positive migrants
After the fight on Sunday, the facility was searched. Marco Grandi, the provincial secretary of ES, said the search "allowed for the seizure of numerous metal bars and dangerous objects, but the bladed weapon used in the injury wasn't found."
The union renewed its appeal to the Cagliari prefect and the interior minister to find a solution. "Coronavirus-positive migrants must be immediately distanced from the CAS in Monastir, before the situation further degenerates," the union said.
Tensions between Friday and Saturday
Clashes, insults, fights, and objects thrown against police officers took place during the night between Friday and Saturday, when a group of guests in the facility neared the building that houses migrants who tested positive for coronavirus. At that point, the two groups of migrants started trading insults and some started physically fighting.
Police had to be called in to put down the fight, which was due to the non-positive migrants' fear of being infected. "The same spaces are shared without any type of real limitation between migrants who tested positive for Covid-19, and the other guests are afraid of becoming infected," Chianese said.
"Protests and tension result from this situation on a daily basis, and on Friday violent fights broke out in the building for coronavirus-positive migrants, after dozens of non-positive migrants stormed the building," he said.