Italy has called for an emergency EU heads of government meeting over the wave of immigrants from Tunisia which has flooded Lampedusa and also reached southern Italy.

Some 5,000 migrants have reached Italy in five days.

Tunisia yesterday rejected an Italian request to post Italian policemen on the Tunisian shore to stem the exodus, but said it was taking action to stop it.

Last Saturday, Italy declared a humanitarian emergency.

Italian Home Affairs Minister Roberto Maroni had initially requested the issue to be discussed at the next meeting of EU home affairs ministers, before the situation grew worse.

Malta had backed his request for the issue to be on the agenda of the ministerial meeting.

Yesterday, the European Commission took exception to comments by Mr Maroni in which he accused the EU of ‘leaving Italy alone’ and without any help.

Addressing a press conference in Brussels, the Commission’s spokesman for Home Affairs, Michele Cercone dismissed the comments and said the Commission was very surprised that they had been made.

“Commissioner Malmstrom was in contact with the Italian authorities over this issue on Saturday and when offered help the Italians replied: Thank you but no thank you.”

He said that despite the negative reply by the Italian authorities, the Commission was still preparing measures to assist Italy in dealing with thousands of migrants who crossed the Mediterranean in the past few days. He said that the EU's border management agency, Frontex, and the European Asylum Support Office in Malta had been instructed to assess the situation in Lampedusa.

Frontex said it would help the Italian authorities. Its chief ,Ilkka Laitinen, said:

"It is a matter of days and this operation will be launched," Laitinen said in Berlin, adding that it will comprise between 30 and 50 personnel, "some vessels and a couple of aircraft."

The migrants arriving in Lampedusa have, meanwhile, been speaking of their experiences. See video.