Italy's police have forcibly removed dozens of African migrants from makeshift camps along the country's Mediterranean border with France. The move came as EU ministers met in Luxembourg to discuss immigration crisis, reports Deutsche Welle.
Around 300 migrants had been camping out for days in Ventimigila, hoping to travel farther north in Europe, when the Italian border police in riot gear hauled them on Tuesday. Some of the migrants - mostly from Sudan, Somalia and Eritrea - resisted being loaded onto buses, whereas the rest cooperated with the police. Some fled in the direction of the rocks near the sea.
A police officer was reportedly injured during scuffles and was treated at the scene.
"We are helpless and hopeless and at the mercy of the police," Mustafari, a migrant from Sudan, told the Reuters news agency, adding that he had tried to reach Sweden via train six times, only to be forced back to Italy by French police each time.
Most of these migrants were sent back to Italy by the French authorities last Friday. They camped in the border town of Ventimiglia, protesting they should be allowed to travel to their desired destinations.
The African migrants have become a source of tension between France and Italy.