650 illegal immigrants arrive in Sicily

A ship crammed with about 650 illegal immigrants arrived in Sicily during the night in one of the largest ever single landings on the southern island, officials said.

A port official said the immigrants were mostly Egyptians and included 21 women and seven children.

He said it was not yet clear whether the 24-metre-long ship, which arrived in the port of Licata just before midnight, came from Libya or somewhere else in northern Africa.

The landing sparked more protests from Italy's centre-right opposition, which claims the government of Prime Minister Romano Prodi has gone soft on illegal immigration since it took office in May.

"A single boatload of 648 illegal immigrants has never before arrived on Sicilian shores," said former interior ministry undersecretary Alfredo Mantovano.

"Is Italy becoming the most sought-after target to reach Europe (illegally)?"

Among other measures, Mr Prodi's centre-left government has sought to speed passage to citizenship of immigrants who enter the country legally or who have regularised their position.

Last year, nearly 23,000 illegal immigrants reached Italy, some 8,000 more than in 2004.

Immigrants often pay thousands of dollars for their journey. Many of them are repatriated back to Africa if they are caught unless they can prove they are political refugees.

The biggest wave of immigration came in the early 1990s, when thousands of Albanian refugees fled to Italy.