In the past two days, taking advantage of a good weather window, departure of migrants from Libya, Tunisia, and Algeria increased, resulting in 12 migrant boats disembarking in the southern coast of Sicily, Sardinia, and Lampedusa, the Armed Forces said in a statement.

During the night, the Armed Forces of Malta rescued 216 migrants that were adrift and in distress onboard two rubber boats inside the Maltese Search and Rescue Region. The migrants have been transferred on board AFM P52 and P21 and are expected to disembark this morning.