Italy ships 2,000 migrants to mainland camps to relieve pressure

ITALY has shipped more than 2,000 migrants to detention camps on the mainland, relieving pressure on a tiny island off Sicily overwhelmed by boats full of illegal arrivals from North Africa.

Lampedusa — a fishing and tourist island with a population of 5,000 — ran out of shelters days ago when migrant numbers peaked at over 6,000, forcing many of the Tunisians and others to sleep in the open air on docksides and in fields.

Amnesty International has added its voice to local concern, saying that migrants had been left to fend for themselves in “appalling” conditions.