Immigrants evicted from Rome tent camp

Nov. 13 (UPI) -- A total of 163 immigrants that squatted in makeshift tents behind one of the biggest train stations in Rome were evicted Tuesday by authorities using heavy equipment.

"After Baobab we will see other evictions in Rome," Italian Interior Minister Matteo Salvini tweeted Tuesday. Salvini is a leader of the Lega political organization that embraces nationalism and is against immigration.

"We will not stop, this is just the beginning, here and in all Italy," he added.

Italian police and other authorities also used buses to transport those living in the area known as Baobab to other places. The camp stood near the Tiburtina train station, just east of the center of Rome.

A report from Repubblica TV said 163 immigrants were present in the camp city at the time authorities intervened. They were transferred to immigration administrative offices, while trucks with a mechanical arms tore down and removed the makeshift tents, the TV station reported.

"Now about a hundred people will remain in the streets. This is a shame for Italy, These people should have a right to hospitality," said Andrea Costa, a coordinator for the Baobab center.

Salvini became Interior Minister after his right-wing Lega party formed a coalition with the populist Five Star Movement. The Lega party had expressed for several years the strongest opposition to immigration.

The United Nations human rights chief Michele Bachelet said in early September that it was dispatching a team to Italy to investigate reports of racism and violence against immigrants.

Hundreds of thousands of African immigrants have arrived in Italy in recent years. With a large coast and proximity to Africa compared with most of the rest of Europe, Italy has long claimed it is more vulnerable to immigration flows beyond its capacity to absorb them.

In June Italy rejected a boat carrying 224 refugees from Africa that was operated by a German aid group. A week earlier, Italy had turned away the Aquarius, a boat with 630 African refugees. The rejection of the the boats marked a change in policy.