Egyptian navy forces have foiled an alleged illegal migration attempt by 228 migrants from various nationalities near Alexandria, stated military spokesperson Mohamed Samir Sunday.
The unregistered migrants were on the deck of three fishing boats with 17 fishermen, the statement added.
“The fishing boats with the crews were escorted to the Alexandria Naval Base where they received necessary medical and administrative care and they have been referred to investigation to take legal action over the incident,” the statement read, not going for further details.
Egypt has intervened in a number of migration attempts by hundreds of asylum seekers from the Middle East and North Africa, particularly from Egypt Syria, Iraq and Libya, via the Mediterranean Sea to Italy or Greece as gates for other European countries.
Italy deported Thursday 52 Egyptians back to their home over violating Italian residency rules and illegal migration, according to a statement from the Cairo International Airport. On Aug. 27, Cairo Airport received 23 Egyptians deported from Italy over attempted trespassing into its territories. A total of 34 Egyptians were deported from Italy for violating the residency law last week.
To solve the migration crisis, Egyptian business tycoon Naguib Sawiris recently offered to buy a Greek or Italian island for unregistered migrants.
“Greece or Italy sell me an island, I’ll declare its independence and host the migrants and provide jobs for them building their new country,” Sawiris posted Wednesday on his Twitter account.
