The U.N. refugee agency (UNHCR) said Thursday that more than 100,000 migrants - more than half of whom are refugees from war or persecution - have reached Italy by sea this year. UNHCR renewed its appeal for European countries to provide alternatives to the perilous sea crossings, often aboard unseaworthy fishing boats, by smugglers across the Mediterranean Sea. It estimates that 1,500 migrants have died or gone missing cross the Mediterranean this year, 1,300 since June. Over 1,900 migrants arrived in Italy Thursday, bringing the year-to-date total to 100,475 and far outstripping last year's 42,000 arrivals. UNHCR said that 29 percent of this year's arrivals are Eritreans and 18 percent are Syrians, both considered refugees.
