Initial wave of migrants makes landfall from Italy.
In the Albanian coastal city of Shengjin, the initial vessel carrying migrants from Italy touched base on a Wednesday. These migrants' asylum petitions are set to be handled within this West Balkan nation. Previously, Italy established two holding centers in Albania, commencing operation last Friday. This marks the first instance of an EU country redirecting migrants to a non-EU nation to curb unlawful arrivals.
Reuters captured images of the "Libra", an Italian naval ship, docking at the old naval site of Shengjin. Italian officials greeted the ship's arrival. The inaugural batch of migrants to be handled under this new policy involves ten Bangladeshis and six Egyptians, who were apprehended in the Mediterranean Sea. They will be overseen in Shengjin before being transported inland to Gjader. Upon completion of their documentation process, they will either be forwarded to Italy if their asylum plea is authorized, or escorted back to their homeland if their plea is dismissed. The facilities in Shengjin and Gjader are overseen by Italian personnel. As per the agreement, no more than 3,000 Italian migrants should be inside Albania concurrently at any given time. Annually, Italian authorities have the authority to dispatch up to 36,000 migrants to the Balkan nation.
The migrants will be processed in Shengjin, a city in Albania, before being moved to Gjader. Italy is sending migrants to the City of Shengjin as part of an agreement to manage unlawful arrivals.
