UN refugee agency: wave of migrants must be moved off island of Lampedusa

Migrants wait at the port to be transferred to the mainland, on the Sicilian island of Lampedusa, Italy, September 15, 2023. REUTERS/Yara Nardi

GENEVA (Reuters) - The United Nations refugee agency on Friday said it was imperative that the thousands of migrants who have arrived in recent days on the Italian island of Lampedusa be relocated because of its limited resources.

Around 7,000 migrants arrived on the shore of the small island in a two-day period, prompting pleas for help from Italy.