Milan, August 15 (LaPresse) – "The tragedy that occurred just the day before yesterday, precisely because of the pain it causes, urges us to continue our efforts to prevent these sea journeys, starting from the countries of departure. It is our duty to relentlessly fight the ruthless business of human trafficking. Only by completely halting irregular departures can we eliminate shipwrecks. That’s why the Government is working decisively also at the international level to combat human trafficking."
These are the words of Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi commenting on the Interior Ministry's report on security during the first seven months of the year, referring to the recent shipwreck off Lampedusa in which at least 27 people, including children, lost their lives.
"In the first 15 days of August," the minister recalled, "around 2,000 irregular immigrants landed on the Italian coasts. Still many, but in the same period in 2024 there were 4,339, and in 2023 there were 12,070. This confirms the trend already seen in July: landings are dropping this year even in the summer months, when weather conditions are more favorable for sea crossings. Since we took office, in fact, the number of landings has dropped drastically. Also this year, as in 2024, there is a 60% decrease compared to 2023. And we are confident we can do even better. Thanks to the agreements with Libya and Tunisia, over 236,000 departures have been blocked from 2023 to today and, thanks to assisted voluntary returns, in the same period more than 64,000 economic migrants have returned to their countries of origin."
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