By Prensa Latina,
Rome : Hundreds of illegal immigrants broke out of an overcrowded detention centre in Italy’s Lampedusa Island in protest against the inhuman condition there.
The centre currently has 1,800 inmates, although it has a capacity of just 800 people.
The immigrants marched to the municipal government headquarters to demand freedom and aid, a local media report said.
Reacting to the incident Saturday, Italy’s Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said the detention centre is not a “concentration camp”. Those who end up there are free to move.
Lampedusa Island has been one of the entry points to the European Union for the illegal immigrants.
Italy’s Interior Minister Roberto Maroni earlier said that his government plans to build a new detention centre in Lampedusa. The local residents, however, oppose the move.