Italy fears huge numbers of migrants might sail from Libya

By FRANCES D’EMILIO
Associated Press

ROME (AP) — An Italian lawmaker says intelligence reports indicate 680,000 migrants in Libya are awaiting an opportunity to set out in smugglers’ boats toward Italy. The parliamentary whip from Premier Giorgia Meloni’s far-right Brothers of Italy party cited the Italian secret services estimate while appearing on an Italian TV news program on Sunday. He says the European Union must help Italy and other Mediterranean countries manage the influx. Italy’s coast guard rescued more than 1,000 migrants in the Mediterranean Sea in recent days. On Sunday, three bodies were found from a Feb. 26 shipwreck off Italy’s coast, raising the known death toll to 79 migrants.