Italy has proof that Muammar Gaddafi planned to turn its tiny island of Lampedusa into an "inferno" by sending thousands of desperate African migrants there by boat, Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said. ...
A deal between Gaddafi and Italy to send migrants back before they entered Italian waters curbed the flow of migrants -- until the Libyan uprising earlier this year brought down strict border controls and drew a fresh wave of migrants.
Italy, once Gaddafi's biggest ally in Europe, turned into a target of his rage after the former colonial power endorsed the Libyan rebel movement and joined a NATO campaign to oust the veteran leader, Frattini said.
Fifty thousand reached Italian shores this year. Hundreds died at sea. But the plan didn't work. Italy was reluctant and often appeared shaky, but Italy held long enough for Khaddafi to break first.
