SPIKE IN MIGRANT FLOWS PROMPTS GREECE TO DEPLOY FRIGATES OFF LIBYA – To deter migrants from arriving at its southern islands of Crete and Gavdos
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said that Greece will deploy two frigates and one more vessel off Libya’s territorial waters to deter migrants from arriving at its southern islands of Crete and Gavdos.
Mitsotakis did not elaborate on the role of the vessels or explain what they would do, but said the move would be in coordination with Libyan authorities and the rest of the European forces operating in the area.
Sea arrivals from northeastern Libya of migrants trying to cross to Europe, mainly from the Middle East and North Africa, including war-torn Sudan, have surged in recent months.
Mitsotakis told Greek President Constantine Tassoulas that the issue was discussed during a national security and defence council on Sunday, June 22nd and that the situation was alarming.
Mitsotakis said the vessels would pre-emptively send a message that “traffickers will not command who enters our country,” he said.
Some 5,700 migrants have arrived on Crete and nearby Gavdos from Libya since January, said the refugee agency UNHCR and more than 800 migrants have tried to reach Greece’s southern islands since Thursday, June 19th.
Authorities on Crete have been scrambling as they do not have facilities to house the migrants until they can be transported to facilities on the mainland.
Greece has been a favoured gateway to the European Union for migrants and refugees from the Middle East, Africa and Asia since 2015, when nearly 1 million people landed on its islands, causing an unprecedented humanitarian crisis. Since then, migrant flows from Turkey have dropped significantly.
