August 27, 2016 - Sudanese and Italian authorities are working together to tackle the migrant crisis.
Some 48 people in Ventimiglia have been deported as human rights organisations protest against the move.
The migrants, who were hoping to cross the Italian border into France, were flown to the Sudanese capital of Khartoum on a chartered EgyptAir flight.
In a bid to avoid protesters expecting the flight to leave from Milan Malpensa Airport, the migrants were actually flown from Turin-Caselle, an airport over an hour away.
The deportation, the first of its kind in Italy, has been met with outrage.
Speaking to local media, protesters said: "We knew well two of the guys that were on that plane.
"Until yesterday they were in the Red Cross centre, they felt safe and they were preparing everything to ask for asylum.”
Italian officials are yet to comment on the deportation.
Alessandra Ballerini, a lawyer in Caritas Ventimiglia and expert in immigration law, said: "This is a mass deportation to a country where fundamental rights are violated and where their lives are in danger.
“With this operation, our country becomes an accomplice.”
In 2015, 60 per cent of Sudanese asylum seekers were granted humanitarian protection in Italy.
But Sudan and Italy signed an agreement earlier this month to work together on migration and border control issues.
A team of Sudanese officials have been sent to the Italian-French border to identify migrants to be repatriated.
Amnesty International says human rights abuses have taken place during conflicts in Sudan.
President Omar Hassan Ahmad al-Bashir is wanted for war crimes and crimes against humanity.
(Continued at source)