(AP) More boats carrying Tunisian asylum-seekers reached a tiny southern Italian island Monday, part of a steady stream from the economically struggling North African country that is sorely testing Italian small town mayors’ ability to stop them escaping by the hundreds from quarantine amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Tunisian migrants are now the biggest single national group reaching Italy by sea, and in a sign of concern Italian Interior Minister Luciana Lamorgese met in Tunisia on Monday with her Tunisian counterpart and the country’s president.
Hours earlier, two vessels carrying a total [of] 18 Tunisians arrived at Lampedusa, a tourist destination about 100 kilometers (62 miles) from Tunisia and 200 kilometers (124 miles) from Sicily.
