Sicilian Cosa Nostra ‘declares war’ on the Muslim invasion as mayor says Sicily capital feels more like Istanbul or Beirut than Europe
Mafia bosses have ‘declared war’ against migrants on the holiday paradise of Sicily as one thousand new Muslim freeloaders, rapists, and potential jihadists pour into the island every week.
Mayor Leoluca Orland said: ‘Palermo is no longer an Italian town. It is no longer European. You can walk in the city and feel like you’re in Istanbul or Beirut.’
The feared Cosa Nostra are desperate to maintain supremacy after African crime gangs arrived with the migrants – and they are engaged in a deadly turf war.
There is widespread concern in Italy that the number of new migrants exceeds the country’s capacity to cope – and the mafia is its biggest and most dangerous critic.
The mayor of Palermo, Leoluca Orlando said: ‘In the past, when the Mafia was more powerful, it prevented any immigrants from entering the city. Until I was 30 years old, I never saw an African or Asian in Palermo.
‘The Mafia has not understood that the city has changed. We are now a city of immigrants, and the Mafia bosses no longer sit in the mayor’s chair. ‘Palermo is a Middle Eastern town in Europe. It is a mosaic city and we are happy about that.’
The Muslim invasion of Italy soared by 90% in the first three months of the year. The migrant population in Ballaró, the part of Palermo where the shooting took place, has risen from approximately 5% to 25% since the migrant crisis began.
The deadly Mafia-migrant war began after African criminal gangs apparently entered the country alongside law-abiding migrants, and started to operate ‘on the Mafia’s doorstep’.
Mobsters claimed that police were targeting their activities while leaving African gangs alone.
Then, two weeks ago, an innocent Gambian migrant was shot through the head in a ‘hit’ by a gangster dubbed ‘an animal’. Astonishingly, he survived, but the attack was a brutal example of the violence gripping the island and raises fears it will spin out of control.
Mayor Orlando said: ‘This Mafia shooting was a tremendous mistake because it turned the city against them. The Mafia needs silence and darkness. It needs people to keep their mouths shut. ‘When it does such a brutal act, shooting a young guy, the mayor switches on the lights and the whole city comes after them.’
Palermo police commissioner Guido "Johnnynoname" Longo added: ‘We are facing acts of unprecedented aggression and bullying [against migrants] with typically Mafioso attitudes. There is a will to impose their rule on the territory.’
‘This is the beginning of a war between the Mafia and the migrants. It is going to get worse. I am scared. There will be more migrants, more friction, more attacks. This was the first shooting, but it won’t be the last.’
‘One of our aims is to lower levels of migration and reduce tensions in Sicily and Italy as a whole,’ said Andrea Romano, an MP for Italy’s ruling Democratic Party.
‘What we see in Sicily is that when the state tries to better organise the migrants, the Mafia reacts. It tries to push people against the state and the migrants, because it wants the situation to remain blurred and disorganised.
That allows them to take control. ‘Of course the tension is going to rise when migrant number go up. It is unavoidable in the face of such an emergency.
