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Malta regards possibility of extremists using immigrants for cover as remote

Xinhua, February 26, 2015 Adjust font size:

Malta's Minister for Home Affairs and National Security Carmelo Abela has said the possibility of extremists coming to Malta on boats with irregular immigrants is farfetched.

"Although one could not exclude this possibility, it was a bit farfetched as these people had better means of getting where they wanted to go without risking their lives on a dinghy," the Times of Malta reported on Wednesday.

The minister added that Malta shared intelligence with other countries, primarily Italy, and so far there was nothing to show that Malta was at risk.

The Maltese archipelago, which has one of the highest population densities in the world, is 284 km from Africa and 80 km south of Sicily, Italy.

Located close to the coastlines of North Africa, Malta has been plagued over the past years with a massive influx of illegal immigrants, who are now reaching the Maltese shores at an alarming rate, causing serious problems for the island country. Endit