More than 450 migrants arrive in Sicily from Libya

More than 450 migrants arrived in Sicily Tuesday from Libya, Italian officials said, DPA reported.

The group included 128 women and consisted mainly of Eritreans and Somalis, who entered Italian waters on a fishing trawler that ran aground near the southern Sicilian port of Pozzallo.

Italy has repeatedly warned that the conflict in Libya could trigger a massive influx of refugees and has asked for assistance from other European Union member states.

Thousands of people attempting to reach Europe from North Africa arrive in Italy each year, but the flow was curbed when a 2008 Rome- Tripoli pact introduced the immediate deportation of migrants intercepted in international waters.

The pact, which was criticized by human rights groups who said it failed to safeguard refugees, has been jeopardized by the uprising against Libyan leader Moamer Gaddafi.

An estimated 18,000 mostly Tunisian migrants have arrived on the Italian island of Lampedusa since January, when an uprising in Tunisia toppled former president Zine El-Abidine Ben Ali.