Young Algerians brave death for new life in Europe and beyond

[Al-khiyal]

(AGI) Cagliari, Jan. 2 - - 53 Algerian clandestine immigrants have landed between the night of 31 December and last night on the coast near Suclis, in the south of Sardinia. After an inquiry two of them were arrested on the assumption that they may have played the role of guides in the journey from Algeria to the Italian coasts. 48 had already been found by the carabinieri of Carbonia and by the financial police between Porto Tramatzu and Porto Pino, near Teulada. Last night five more young men arrived on small motor boats 3-4 meters long. Up until now they have managed to escape the police forces.

53 Algerian clandestine immigrants land in Sardinia

[Al-khiyal]

Six émigrants algériens qui voulaient se rendre clandestinement en Espagne par la mer ont été interpellés près de la ville marocaine de Nador, ont indiqué hier les autorités de cette ville. Les six Algériens, partis d’une localité algérienne en direction des côtes espagnoles, ont échoué avec leur embarcation au Maroc après une panne due à un manque de carburant, ont assuré les autorités de Nador citées par l’agence marocaine Map.

Les six émigrés ont été interpellés avant-hier au cap des Trois-Fourches, à 40 km au nord de la ville. Le 10 octobre dernier, 13 Algériens ont été interpellés dans la même région de Nador, après une tentative de traversée vers l’Espagne.

Leur embarcation avait échoué sur la côte marocaine à cause de mauvaises conditions météorologiques. En 2006, 450 émigrés algériens ont été interpellés dans cette zone, selon les autorités locales.

Six Algériens interpellés au Maroc

[Al-khiyal]

(AGI) - Rome, Jan 5 - 1,335 underage illegal immigrants arrived on Italian shores in the course of 2006: 1,264 in Sicily, 41 in Calabria, 30 in Apulia and none in Sardinia, immigration data from the Interior Ministry showed. Out of the 22,016 illegal immigrants total, 19,622 were men and 1,059 were women. 21,400 illegal immigrants arrived in Sicily (19,099 male and 1,037 female), 282 in Calabria (231 male and 10 female), 243 in Apulia (201 male and 12 female), 91 in Sardinia (all male). The largest nationality among immigrants to Sicily was Maroccan (8,146), followed by Egyptian (4,200), Eritrean (2,859), Tunisian (2,288), Ghanaian (530), Nigerian (491), Ethiopian (479), Algerian (473), Bangladeshi (361), Sudanese (352), Pakistani (183), Ivory Coast (168), Somali (121), Nigerien (98) and Lebanese (95). The 282 immigrants to Calabria came from Egypt (278), Iran (2), Afghanistan (1) and Turkey (1); the 243 immigrants to Apulia came from Bangladesh (143), Iraq (50), Afghanistan (38), Albania (9) and Sri Lanka (3); the 91 which arrived in Sardinia were from Algeria (67) and Tunisia (24). The nationalities recorded are those declared by the immigrants when they disembarked, the Interior Ministry said.

[Al-khiyal]

Algiers, 30 Jan. (AKI) - The Algerian government has launched a campaign in mosques against illegal immigration towards Europe. London-based Arabic daily al-Sharq al-Awsat reported on Tuesday that Abdullah Tamin, spokesman for the ministry of religious affairs, had announced that Algeria's 14,000 mosques will host a campaign targeting youths to persuade them against dangerous sea trips to reach Italy, France or Spain illegaly.

The country's religious leaders have also announced they will issue a fatwa banning illegal immigration.

"We have asked imams to explain to those wishing to board unsafe boats that the paradise they are trying to reach quickly will only turn out to be a dream," the ministry spokesman was also quoted as saying.

[Al-khiyal]

Algiers central district judiciary police has arrested 17 runaways who sneaked into a Portuguese boat at the end of last January. Police officer Kheireddine Benrabah clarified yesterday in a press seminar held at the information site of Algiers Security that those runaways had received the help of five dockers in Algiers port who gave them clothes and forged pass cards with which the runaways could pass the security barriers of the port.

The officer added that the investigation ended with the arrest of 23 people embroiled in this affair relegated to the Republic's prosecutor who ordered 12 among them to be placed under temporary detention while the rest are under judiciary control.

It is worth mentioning that since the spread of the running away phenomenon, this case has been the first of its kind where Algiers port became an arena for illegal attempts to emigrate as the 17 captured runaways received the help of the port employees.

Arrest of 17 runaways in Algiers Port

[Al-khiyal]

Samedi 24 Février 2007 - - Les gardes-côtes de la station maritime principale du port d’Annaba ont mis en échec dans la nuit de mercredi à jeudi derniers, la tentative de huit harragas qui voulaient rejoindre la rive nord de la Mer méditerranée à bord d’une embarcation de pêche construite en bois, a-t-on appris de sources sûres.

Ces jeunes, dont six sont originaires de cette même ville et deux autres issus de la localité d’Echatt dans la wilaya d’El-Taref, ont avoué lors de leur audition, avoir cotisé à hauteur de 60 000 DA chacun pour se payer une barque de 4,5 m de longueur, dotée d’un moteur d’une capacité de 40 CH, à bord de laquelle ils voulaient atteindre la Sardaigne en Italie.

Arrestation de 8 harragas au port de Annaba

[Al-khiyal]

Italian authorities worry about increase of Algerian illegal immigrants