Italy to Give African Nations $216 Million to Block Migrants
Italy will give 200 million euros ($216 million) to African nations to help their security forces tighten their borders and stop migrants heading to Europe, Agence France-Presse reported.
The so-called Africa Fund will provide funds, training for security forces and border-monitoring equipment to countries along the migration route. The first recipients will be Niger, Libya and Tunisia.
“We give money to these countries, and in return they must use it to reduce the number of illegal migrants arriving here,” Italy’s foreign minister Angelino Alfano said.
Serbia Puts Refugee Center Under Lockdown
Serbia has put a refugee center housing some 500 people under lockdown after reports of an attack nearby, Reuters reported.
Migrants and asylum-seekers must get permission to leave the camp in Obrenovac, near Belgrade, and have to return by 10 p.m.
They will also be issued with identification documents, Serbia’s labour minister Aleksandar Vulin said, after a woman reported to police that three migrants attacked her in the area.
Serbia is running a special bus service for migrants between Obrenovac and Belgrade, which Vulin said was “to avoid mixing” with the local population.
Libya: NATO, E.U. Ships Can Turn Back Migrants in Waters in Return for Aid
Libya’s U.N.-backed government will consider allowing NATO or E.U. ships to operate in Libyan waters so they can turn back migrant boats, in return for assistance in modernizing the Libyan navy, the Associated Press reported.
This would stop the migrants from reaching international waters, at which point they must be granted an opportunity to claim asylum in Europe.
The offer by Libyan prime minister Fayez Serraj came after he held talks with NATO secretary general Jens Stoltenberg in Brussels.
Serraj’s government has struggled to exert control over conflict-wracked Libya, while the Libyan coast guard has been accused of being complicit in gross human rights abuses inflicted on migrants in the country.
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