Italy will send humanitarian aid to Tunisia to help as many as 10,000 refugees fleeing Libya, Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi decided at a Cabinet meeting late yesterday, a government source told AFP.

Mr Berlusconi called British Prime Minister David Cameron during the meeting to inform him of the decision “in the hope that other countries will follow suit”, the source said.

The meeting centred on the “moral and humanitarian duty” to help the “tens of thousands of desperate people who are fleeing towards the border, including many young children,” the source said.

“Helping them at the scene is also the best way to seriously address the risk of an immense wave of immigration” from north Africa, the source added.

Italy has already warned of an exodus “of biblical proportions” if Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi falls, saying up to 300,000 migrants could head for Europe’s shores.

Ministers said Rome had already helped some 1,400 Italians and 800 foreigners to leave Libya.

Italy’s decision came as the UN High Commissioner for Refugees issued an urgent appeal for the mass evacuation of tens of thousands of people fleeing into Tunisia from the strife-torn neighbouring state.