Italian island seeks help to deal with Algerian migrant flow

ROME – The governor of the Italian island of Sardinia has asked the central government to do something about Algerian migrants who have been landing undetected.

Italian news agency ANSA said Saturday that about 800 Algerians had reached the Mediterranean island aboard smugglers’ boats directly from their homeland so far this year.

It quoted Gov. Francesco Pigliaru as warning about “social alarm” among Sardinians, citing crimes allegedly committed by recent arrivals. He asked Italy’s government to work with Algerian authorities to stop the flow.

Those numbers pale compared to the hundreds of thousands of migrants reaching Italy after rescue at sea from smugglers’ vessels launched from Libya in the last few years. With Italians increasingly reluctant to care for so many, Italy is aiding Libyan authorities to block that lucrative trafficking route.