In a letter to the European Commission dated May 11th, which AFP obtained a copy of on Sunday, ministers Thomas de Maiziere and Marco Minniti said they "are convinced that we all must do more" to "prevent that hundreds of thousands of people once again risk their lives in Libya and on the Mediterranean Sea in the hands of smugglers."
Italy had already registered nearly 42,500 migrants coming by sea by mid-April this year and 97 percent of them arrived from Libya, the letter said.
It called for the setting up of "a EU Mission at the border between Libya and Niger as soon as possible."
To close the migrant route from Niger to Libya, the ministers are seeking "support for growth and development programmes in local communities" along the border.
Other measures include "technical and financial support" for Libyan authorities fighting illegal migration, particularly at the border with Niger.
Libya has long struggled to control its 5,000 kilometres (3,000 miles) of southern borders with Sudan, Chad and Niger, even before the 2011 uprising that toppled dictator Moamer Kadhafi.
The North African country has long been a stepping stone for migrants seeking to cross the Mediterranean for a better life in Europe.
But smugglers have stepped up their lucrative business in the post-uprising chaos, with tens of thousands of people each year making the perilous crossing to Italy just some 300 kilometres away.
According to the Libyan government, between 7,000 and 8,000 migrants mostly from sub-Saharan Africa are being held in Libyan detention centres after entering the country illegally.
In a letter to the European Commission dated May 11th, which AFP obtained a copy of on Sunday, ministers Thomas de Maiziere and Marco Minniti said they "are convinced that we all must do more" to "prevent that hundreds of thousands of people once again risk their lives in Libya and on the Mediterranean Sea in the hands of smugglers."
Italy had already registered nearly 42,500 migrants coming by sea by mid-April this year and 97 percent of them arrived from Libya, the letter said.
It called for the setting up of "a EU Mission at the border between Libya and Niger as soon as possible."
To close the migrant route from Niger to Libya, the ministers are seeking "support for growth and development programmes in local communities" along the border.
Other measures include "technical and financial support" for Libyan authorities fighting illegal migration, particularly at the border with Niger.
Libya has long struggled to control its 5,000 kilometres (3,000 miles) of southern borders with Sudan, Chad and Niger, even before the 2011 uprising that toppled dictator Moamer Kadhafi.
The North African country has long been a stepping stone for migrants seeking to cross the Mediterranean for a better life in Europe.
But smugglers have stepped up their lucrative business in the post-uprising chaos, with tens of thousands of people each year making the perilous crossing to Italy just some 300 kilometres away.
According to the Libyan government, between 7,000 and 8,000 migrants mostly from sub-Saharan Africa are being held in Libyan detention centres after entering the country illegally.
Photo: Andreas Solaro/AFP
Italy rescues 480 migrants at sea
Some 484 migrants were plucked from dinghies in four operations involving coastguard boats, an Italian navy ship, the German NGO Sea Eye and the OHIO mercantile ship.
The bodies of seven men were recovered during the operations.
More than 45,000 people have been rescued and brought to Italy so far this year, a 44 percent increase from the same period in 2016, according to Italy's interior ministry.
About 1,309 have died or are feared dead after trying to make the journey, the International Organization for Migration said.
Nigerians make up the largest group, followed by people from Bangladesh, Guinea and the Ivory Coast.
Nigeria is home to Boko Haram, which has terrorised the country with an eight-year fight to create a hardline Islamic state that has killed some 20,000 people and forced at least 2.6 million others to flee their homes.
