Italy Sees 300,000 Fleeing Libya Turmoil

Libya has quickly descended into violence

Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini says up to 300,000 migrants from Libya could flee to Italy because of turmoil in the North African country.

Frattini told the "Corriere della Sera" newspaper that the estimates are "on the low side" and spoke of a possible "Biblical exodus."

Interior ministers from Italy, Cyprus, France, Greece, Malta, and Spain will meet on February 23 in Rome to set a common policy on the upheaval in North Africa and make a recommendation to the European Commission.

Libya has a population of nearly 6.5 million people.

compiled from agency reports