Latest news with #Gavdos
Arab News
2 days ago
- Politics
- Arab News
Greece seeks cooperation with Libya to stop migration, PM says
Greece said it would deploy two frigates and one more vessel off Libya's territorial waters to deter migrants from reaching its southern islands Mitsotakis said authorities in Libya should cooperate with Greece to stop migrantsBRUSSELS: Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on Thursday that Libya should cooperate with Greece and Europe to help halt a surge in migration flows from the north African arrivals of migrants in Europe from the north of Africa, including war-torn Sudan, and the Middle East have spiked in recent said on Monday it would deploy two frigates and one more vessel off Libya's territorial waters to deter migrants from reaching its southern islands of Crete and Gavdos.'I will inform my colleagues about the significant increase in the number of people from eastern Libya and ask for the support of the European Commission so that the issue can be addressed immediately,' Mitsotakis said ahead of an European Union summit in Brussels that began on said authorities in Libya should cooperate with Greece to stop migrants sailing from there or turn them back before they exit Libyan territorial added that the EU's migration commissioner and ministers from Italy, Greece and Malta would travel to Libya early in July to discuss the and order has been weak in Libya since a 2011 uprising that toppled dictator Muammar Qaddafi, with the country divided by factional conflict into eastern and western sections for over a decade.
Reuters
2 days ago
- Politics
- Reuters
Greece seeks cooperation with Libya to stop migration, PM says
June 26 (Reuters) - Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on Thursday that Libya should cooperate with Greece and Europe to help halt a surge in migration flows from the north African state. Seaborne arrivals of migrants in Europe from the north of Africa, including war-torn Sudan, and the Middle East in recent months. Greece said on Monday it would deploy two frigates and one more vessel off Libya's territorial waters to deter migrants from reaching its southern islands of Crete and Gavdos. "I will inform my colleagues about the significant increase in the number of people from eastern Libya and ask for the support of the European Commission so that the issue can be addressed immediately," Mitsotakis said ahead of an European Union summit in Brussels that began on Thursday. Mitsotakis said authorities in Libya should cooperate with Greece to stop migrants sailing from there or turn them back before they exit Libyan territorial waters. He added that the EU's migration commissioner and ministers from Italy, Greece and Malta would travel to Libya early in July to discuss the issue. Law and order has been weak in Libya since a 2011 uprising that toppled dictator Muammar Gaddafi, with the country divided by factional conflict into eastern and western sections for over a decade.
The Herald
3 days ago
- Politics
- The Herald
Greece to deploy frigates off Libya to curb increased migrant flows, PM says
Greece will deploy two frigates and another vessel off Libya's territorial waters to deter migrants from arriving at its southern islands of Crete and Gavdos, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on Monday. 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 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. More than 800 migrants have tried to reach Greece's southern islands since last Thursday. Mitsotakis told Greek President Constantine Tassoulas the issue was discussed during a national security and defence council on Sunday and the situation was alarming. 'I have asked the defence minister to ensure Greek navy vessels are deployed off Libya's territorial waters to pre-emptively send a message that traffickers will not command who enters our country,' he said. The three ships, including a support vessel, would leave Greece soon, two government officials with knowledge of the issue told Reuters. Greece has been a favoured gateway to the EN for migrants and refugees from the Middle East, Africa and Asia since 2015 when nearly one million people landed on its islands, causing an unprecedented humanitarian crisis. Since then migrant flows from Turkey have dropped significantly. In more recent years, Greece has seen a rise in arrivals from Libya, including Sudanese nationals fleeing Egypt and Egyptian and Bangladeshi nationals, and Athens and Cairo have discussed the spike in migration flows. Greece and Libya have been trying to mend relations strained by an accord signed in 2019 between the Libyan government and Turkey. Reuters
Arab News
4 days ago
- Politics
- Arab News
Tiny Greek island appeals for help after migrant increase
ATHENS: Greece's southernmost island is facing a significant increase in migration from Libya, its mayor said on Tuesday, warning it does not have the means to cope. Lilian Stefanakis said the rise was 'a heavy burden' for Gavdos, which is just 30 square kilometers (11.5 square miles), has 70 residents off-season and only a handful of shops. Gavdos lies off the southern coast of neighboring Crete and is about 300 kilometers (186 miles) from the Libyan city of Tobruk across the Mediterranean Sea. 'We don't have the capacity to manage these flows,' Stefanakis told Greek public radio Ert. 'Institutional solutions must be found.' According to the port police, 7,300 migrants have arrived on Crete and Gavdos since the start of this year compared to 4,935 for the whole of 2024. Since the start of this month, 2,550 arrivals have been recorded. Migrants leaving Libya hope to reach the European Union and follow instructions from people-smugglers, who for the past few months have been directing them to Crete and tiny Gavdos. Crete does not have any camps to register asylum seekers and offers only emergency shelters for migrants before they are transferred to mainland Greece. 'The smugglers will not set the rules,' Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on Monday, promising to raise the issue about increased migration flows from Libya at the next European summit. 'Navy ships will be sent outside Libya's territorial waters in order to control illegal migrant flows,' he added. Government spokesman Pavlos Marinakis later clarified that two military frigates would be sent. Stefanakis said a vessel from the European Union's border agency Frontex was deployed and called for further reinforcement on the island. The northeastern islands in the Aegean Sea opposite Turkiye have traditionally been entry points to Greece and Europe for undocumented migrants and camps have been built.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Greece to deploy frigates off Libya to curb increased migrant flows, PM says
ATHENS (Reuters) -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, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on Monday. 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. More than 800 migrants have tried to reach Greece's southern islands since Thursday. Mitsotakis told Greek President Constantine Tassoulas that the issue was discussed during a national security and defence council on Sunday and that the situation was alarming. "I have asked the defence minister... to ensure that Greek Navy vessels are deployed off Libya's territorial waters to pre-emptively ... send a message that traffickers will not command who enters our country," he said. The three ships, including a support vessel would leave Greece in next coming days, two government officials with knowledge of the issue told Reuters. 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. In more recent years, Greece has seen a rise in arrivals from Libya - including Sudanese nationals fleeing Egypt as well as Egyptian and Bangladeshi nationals - and Athens and Cairo have discussed the spike in migration flows. Greece and Libya have been trying to mend relations strained by an accord signed in 2019 between the Libyan government and Turkey.
