A group of 100 migrants being held at the former Naxxar counting hall yesterday held a brief protest over their living conditions.

The migrants, including children, started complaining to voluntary organisations that they were not happy with the place but quickly changed their mind and decided to remain there given medical clearance.

A spokesman for the Home Affairs ministry said the group of families had first been kept at the Safi detention centre after they arrived in Malta on Thursday.

The group of 257 migrants, including 30 children, were brought to Malta after they were saved from a sinking boat. The migrants claimed to have come from Syria, Iran, Iraq, Palestine and Senegal.

However, the migrants refused to cooperate with the authorities during their interviews and medical check-ups and it was decided to move them to the unused counting hall instead of a detention centre.

A Home Affairs spokesman said the migrants protested at being transferred and representatives from voluntary organisations went to talk to the migrants to persuade them to cooperate.

During the protest, NGOs tried to convince the migrants to accept to move to Lyster Detention Centre where the conditions were better but they opted to be detained at Naxxar until they obtained the necessary health clearances.

Figures released by the UNHCR two days before last week’s arrival show that just 308 migrants arrived in Malta so far this year, a sharp decrease from the average of 1,400 annual arrivals recorded since 2003.