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Picture belonging to the same article - © Ettore
Ferrari/EPA About 42,000 people have attempted to cross the Mediterranean to
Italy so far this year, according to the EU border agency, Frontex.
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The United Nations has been forced to consider
establishing refugee holding centres in north Africa and the Middle East due to
the spiralling numbers of migrants attempting perilous journeys across the
Mediterranean in a desperate effort to reach Europe.
The UN's refugee agency, UNHCR, has said for the
first time that the large-scale processing of migrants and refugees outside
Europe, in countries such as Egypt, Libya or Sudan, may be necessary as
frontline authorities claim they have been abandoned by Brussels in the face of
a "colossal humanitarian catastrophe".
Hundreds of thousands of people are preparing to make
treacherous crossings on unseaworthy vessels from the north African coast to
Greece and Italy as this summer's "boat season" gets under way, say
officials. Figures for the first few months of this year already show a
dramatic increase on previous years.
