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Lombardy head calls for tougher measures to prevent terrorist attacks in Italy

Xinhua, January 14, 2015 Adjust font size:

The President of Lombardy region in northern Italy Roberto Maroni on Tuesday called for tougher measures to prevent possible acts of terrorism in Milan after the attacks in Paris last week in which 17 people were killed.

"The Italian government must suspend the Schengen treaty - which allows legal residents of most European countries plus Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland to travel across the zone with only minimal border checks - during the Expo Milano 2015," Maroni said at a ceremony to commemorate the French victims.

The world exposition, which will run from May 1 to Oct. 31 in Milan, capital city of one of the most developed regions in Europe, is expected to attract some 20 million visitors from all over the world.

Maroni, a member of right wing regional party Northern League, stressed that the European Union (EU) should invest more on intelligence services and put in place "serious policies" against illegal immigration.

"Checking borders is not the only thing to be done, but certainly must be done. Prevention is useful," he went on saying referring to the countless arrivals of sea boat migrants from North African and Middle Eastern countries faced by Italy in recent months.

As many as 3,707 unaccompanied minors have gone missing from migrant centers in Italy out of a total of 14,243 registered, Italian Interior Minister Angelino Alfano declared on Tuesday.

Also on Tuesday, Italian media said a dozen migrants were being investigated in the country for suspected ties with Islamist terrorist networks abroad. Many of those deemed to be at risk of extremism were reportedly based in Lombard cities including Milan, Brescia and Bergamo.

Though Italian intelligence sources said no concrete signals of imminent attacks have emerged so far, the alert has been raised to the maximum level in major cities around possible sensitive targets such as Jewish districts, public offices, embassies, monuments and places of worship. Enditem