Lampedusa, Italy (CNN) -- More than 400 people fleeing Libya and Tunisia arrived overnight in an Italian island on Saturday, the latest in a stream of refugees escaping volatile and unstable North Africa. The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees said the people reached the Mediterranean island of Lampedusa in two boats, one from Libya and the other from Tunisia. The vessel from Libya carried 199 people fleeing the country's civil war, and the other carried 218 Tunisians looking for better lives in Europe. Five boats containing 1,271 passengers reached Lampedusa on Friday. Many of the refugees are from sub-Saharan Africa, including Sierra Leone and Senegal. Others include Bangladeshis and Egyptians.
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One ship was from Libya and the other was from Tunisia
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People have been making the journey since February
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Lampedusa and Malta have borne the brunt of refugee flight
The number of new arrivals from @placeholder has reduced somewhat, thanks in part to a recent agreement with Italy to improve patrolling along the Tunisian coast.