After more than 800 asylum seekers from Libya made it to Malta early last week, many feared good weather conditions would lead to an influx of irregular immigrants in the following days.
A spokesman for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees in Malta said although the islands were basking in sunlight, the stretch of sea between Malta and North Africa had seen some rough weather. This was confirmed by the Meteorological Office.
However, with the Libyan political crisis showing no signs of waning, thousands of displaced people are still seeking shelter in the desert to the west of Libya without the basic necessities. About 6,000 people cross the Libyan borders every day in need of assistance to return home.
According to figures collected by The Times and the International Organisation for Migration, up until last week, 452,176 evacuees, including over 280,000 third country nationals ( TCNs), had fled Libya. It was reported that an additional 600 people on Sunday and 210 early on Monday made it to Lampedusa.
By the end of March, 20,489 people, of whom 18,999 were of Tunisian nationality, travelled to Lampedusa and Linosa.
Most of t he di s placed migrants were moved to detention centres on mainland Italy or Sicily from where some have escaped a nd headed for France, according to the international media.
The UNHCR said reception conditions on the fishing and tourist island of Lampedusa continued to be critical.
Tension, both among the Tunisians themselves and also between Tunisians and the local population, remained high, although the Italian government’s announcement of imminent transfer of all migrants from the island led to temporary appeasement, the refugee agency added.
The UNHCR received unconfirmed reports of a missing boat with 80 people aboard, which supposedly left Libya between March 22 and 23.
Over the weekend, the UN said more than 400 African migrants travelling to Italy were feared drowned after going missing days earlier in the Mediterranean. The two vessels, one carrying 335 Eritreans and the other 68 Eritreans and Ethiopians, were reported to have left Libya on March 22 and 25.
In the meantime, IOM said that in Tunisia, Chadians and Sudanese formed part of the largest group of people requiring evacuation assistance. More than 190,000 TCNs and nearly 20,000 Tunisians have fled Libya through the Tunisian border. Many Chadians arrived in Egypt as well.
To date, more than 165,000 people made it to the North African country. Half of the irregular immigrants were Egyptian.
The UNHCR added that the evacuation of Sudanese nationals from Tunisia also remained a priority.
The Choucha camp in Tunisia was divided in two sections, where people are relocated according to nationality and family size. The vast majority of people of concern to UNHCR are Somalis and Eritreans.
On March 30, two boats carrying 60 Somalis were reported to have landed at Zarzis seaport and the migrants were transferred to the Choucha camp by the police. The vessel is believed to have departed from Libya en route to Italy.