Migrant arrivals on Italy's coasts have gone down in 2017, in particular those from Libya. However, deadly incidents are continuing to be reported with seven more deaths on November 1 as 1,000 people were rescued by Libyan forces.
The number of migrants who have landed in Italy from January 1 this year until October 31 has gone down by 30.13% compared to the same period last year, according to data released by the Italian interior ministry. The number of landings declined by 78 percent in October alone, the ministry also said.
Arrivals from Libya went down 93 percent in 2017.
Overall, the interior ministry said that 111,397 migrants reached Italy in the first 10 months of 2017 compared to 159,427 in the same period in 2016. In October, 5,984 people arrived against the 27,384 who landed in October 2016. In addition, 1,917 people have arrived from Libya over the past 30 days compared to 27, 384 in 2016.
Seven bodies on rubber dinghy off Libya as 2,800 reported dead in 2017
The decreasing number of landings, however, has not led to a decrease in deadly incidents reported in the Mediterranean where some 2,800 migrants have been reported dead in 2017, according to the UN International Organization for Migration (IOM).Seven bodies were retrieved on November 1 on board a rubber dinghy travelling to Italy, which was located off Libya's coast during an operation coordinated by the central operational unit in Rome of Italy's coast guard.A Navy vessel deployed as part of Eunavformed, the military operation Sofia launched by the EU to halt human trafficking, reached the dinghy, retrieved the bodies and rescued dozens of migrants aboard the vessel.
Rescue operations continuing off Libya and Tunisia
Meanwhile over the past 24 hours in the same area, about 10 miles from Libyan territorial waters, eight rescue operations were carried out with a total of 900 people who were taken back mainland. Coast guard, Navy and NGO officials took part in the operations.In particular the other night, some two miles off the oil platform Sabratha and 60 miles north of Zawiya, 120 migrants of African origin were rescued by Libyan coast guards and ''handed to their Italian counterparts'', according to Libyan Navy spokesman, Admiral Ayob Amr Ghasem.The previous day, Libya's coast guards rescued 299 migrants east of Tripoli, off the coast of Zliten. The migrants were taken to the naval base of Tripoli where, according to a statement, they were assisted by international organizations including IOM and the UNHCR and then transferred to a center in Tajoura.In the first eight months of the year, as reported by Italian Interior Minister Marco Minniti, Libyan coast guards took back to the mainland over 16,000 people. Two weeks ago, 90 migrants were rescued, including 11 women and 23 children, off Sabratha, west of Tripoli.
Tunisian nationals are also continuing to arrive. About 50 people on Wednesday reached Lampedusa where the previous day two landings were reported of respectively 70 and 20 people. A Tunisian Navy vessel the same day rescued 58 Tunisian migrants aboard a boat that was stranded about 100 km off the coast of Sfax, who were then handed over to the national guard. Picture: Portuguese Marines signal to a boat carrying 48 migrants near a Portuguese Navy Patrol Ship, off the coast of Pozzallo, Sicily, Italy