(ANSA) - Brussels, April 12 - Italy's ability to cope with the influx of asylum seekers is under strain following a 30% increase in the number of arrivals so far this year, EU border agency Frontex said Wednesday. "Italy remained under migratory pressure last month," it said. "The number of migrants arriving through the Central Mediterranean route in March rose by more than one-fifth to 10,800. "This brought the total for the first three months of the year to nearly 24,250, almost 30% higher than the figure from the same period of 2016".

The agency said nationals from Bangladesh, Nigeria and Guinea accounted for the largest number of detected migrants. Since the beginning of March, the number of migrants from the Horn of Africa (especially Eritreans and Somalis) has started to increase, probably in large part because of the improving weather conditions on the land route to Libya their home countries, it added.

