ROME, Dec 29: A wave of migrants reaching Italy by sea is creating divisions within the Italian government on how to deal with Libya, which critics say is failing to live up to agreements to help intercept boats headed for Italy.

Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi’s government took office in May pledging to stem illegal immigration, but the number of migrants arriving by sea is setting off alarms in Italy and opening the government to criticism.

Since Christmas, nearly 2,000 would-be immigrants packed onto boats reached the tiny southern island of Lampedusa, a startling figure that prompted the interior minister to publicly complain about Libya.

Libyan Leader Muammar Gaddafi “must respect the accords” to reduce immigration, said Maroni, from the anti-immigrant Northern League political party.

Others from his party have called Qadhafi ‘unreliable’, and opposition politicians are using the issue to accuse Berlusconi of failing to deal with illegal immigration.

Libya, a popular point of departure for African immigrants, agreed with Italy last year to set up joint patrols to curb the number of immigrants crossing by sea to Italy. A subsequent pact between the two countries in August reiterated this goal.

But Foreign Minister Franco Frattini and Defence Minister Ignazio La Russa, in a sign of divisions on how to deal with Libya, acknowledged part of the blame fell on Rome where the parliament has yet to approve the August accord with Tripoli.

All of this came in wake of a deepening of Italian-Libyan business relations.—Reuters