ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - More than 500 migrants arrived in Lampedusa, the largest of Italy's Pelagie Islands in the Mediterranean Sea, the Italian Red Cross confirmed to Rudaw on Thursday.
A total of "534 migrants of various nationalities on Wednesday arrived in Lampedusa island," the Red Cross’s media office said, adding that almost 30,000 arrivals have been recorded in the island so far this year.
Most migrants came from Africa, “particularly Libya,” according to the Red Cross.
It said that arrivals this year are comparable with last year but lower than in 2023.
In early July, Rudaw reported about the rising number of Kurdish youth from the Raparin area opting for the Libya-Italy sea route to reach Europe. The dangerous path has become increasingly popular due to tighter border restrictions and longer wait times along the traditional Turkey-Greece route.
Lampedusa repeatedly sees influxes of migrants, with thousands of new people arriving on the island, a development that has prompted local authorities to warn that the island is becoming overwhelmed.
Tens of thousands of people from Iraq and the Kurdistan Region take on perilous routes out of the country towards Europe every year in hopes of escaping the endless crises in the country, including the lack of employment, political instability, and corruption.
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