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Newly-arrived would-be immigrants wait to see a medical doctor at the Lyster barracks detention centre for immigrants in Hal Far, outside Valletta, July 10, 2013. Would-be immigrants who land in Malta face mandatory detention which can last for 18 months but figures show nearly half are allowed out sooner, following the granting of refugee status or humanitarian protection, according to official sources. Photo: Darrin Zammit Lupi

Sub-Saharan African migrants wait for medical examinations at the Safi barracks detention centre for immigrants, which currently holds around 650 detainees, in Safi, outside Valletta, October 22, 2013. Italy will seek an overhaul of European asylum policies and emergency action to handle a crisis that has seen tens of thousands of African migrants arrive in Sicily and Malta and hundreds of deaths, Prime Minister Enrico Letta said on Tuesday. Photo: Darrin Zammit Lupi

A Sub-Saharan African migrant waits for a medical examination at the Safi barracks detention centre for immigrants, which currently holds around 650 detainees, in Safi, outside Valletta, October 22, 2013. Italy will seek an overhaul of European asylum policies and emergency action to handle a crisis that has seen tens of thousands of African migrants arrive in Sicily and Malta and hundreds of deaths, Prime Minister Enrico Letta said on Tuesday. Photo: Darrin Zammit Lupi