Italy: 100 migrants picked up by Italian Coast Guard near Lampedusa

Two 300-class patrol boats from the Italian coast guard have aided some 100 migrants attempting to sail across the Mediterranean from Libya, near the coast of Lampedusa, Friday. Italian officials have said that some 3,600 migrants were escorted in the last 48 hours, including 2,220 on Thursday in 11 different operations, coordinated by the National Centre Relief Coast Guard . The recent wave of migrants attempting to cross the Mediterranean has been disproportionately effecting the southern countries of the EU including Greece, Italy, Malta and Cyprus. Two days ago European Commission officials announced a plan to bring in mandatory migrant quotas to redistribute asylum seekers between EU states.