Italian police have arrested two Pakistani nationals on charges of killing four migrant workers. Italian media say these people were found dead in a burned car.
The vehicle was found at a petrol station near a village in Calabria, a large agricultural region in southern Italy.
Security camera footage shows two people closing the car doors from the outside and throwing liquid substances inside to set it on fire.
Reports say that in recent months 14 such incidents have been recorded in this same area, in which vehicles used to transport Pakistanis were set on fire. There is violence among migrants in this region over agricultural work and the distribution of housing.
When the fire was extinguished, the bodies of four burned people were found inside. Later, based on evidence from surveillance camera footage, both suspects were arrested.
Earlier it was reported that all the burned people were Pakistani nationals, but now it has been found that among the dead were three Afghans and one Pakistani, all of whom worked in agriculture. Italian media said that a fifth Afghan man survived the attack.
The survivor told the media that he broke a car window and saved himself from the fire.
He added that the conflict started when the two arrested men demanded transport money from the people in the car, but they refused to pay. He also claimed that the workers had not been paid for their work in the area’s strawberry fields and that only food and lodging had been provided to them.
This incident has sparked strong reactions in Italy. Roberto Occhiuto, the regional president of Calabria, said this incident is a “blow to belief in humanity” and called it an “inhuman” act.
On the other hand, Italy’s labor union CGIL demanded through the country’s news agency that serious action be taken against the daily abusive conditions of workers in rural areas, especially migrants.
A local police chief, Antonio Borrelli, told a newspaper, “This is undoubtedly murder, we just need to clarify the details.” Newspapers said that in recent months 14 such incidents have occurred in this same area, in which vehicles used to transport Pakistanis were set on fire.
In this region there is tension and disputes among migrants over the distribution of agricultural work, residence documents, and housing.
By- Laiba Yousafzai
