Libya Faction Presents Naval Shopping List to E.U.
A Libyan faction has given a shopping list of naval equipment to the European Union. The government of prime minister Fayez Serraj wants ships and radar to combat people smugglers, Brussels said.
The request will be examined by E.U. foreign ministers in Luxembourg on Monday. An official told Reuters that not all demands will be met.
Italy has already signed agreements with the Serraj government to supply boats and crews. The E.U. has offered aid and coastguard training in return for assistance in halting smuggling operations in the central Mediterranean.
“We have received a formal request and it’s under consideration,” a senior E.U. diplomat said. “We need it to be linked to the work we are doing on borders to ensure it is going to be used effectively.”
“It’s a very long shopping list, including various sorts of vessels and radars and other equipment,” another senior diplomat said. “We need to decipher it first but we definitely won’t be able to give it all.
“Still, there are ways: we can look at some older equipment, or some assets confiscated from people smugglers. But we have to make sure it is in line with what we are trying to achieve there and that it is used properly.”
The Serraj administration, based in Tripoli, controls only a small section of Libya with rival authorities in the east, as well as the so-called Islamic State and numerous armed militia vying for power.
Syrian Refugee Severely Burnt in Self-Immolation
A Syrian refugee in Greece has suffered severe burns after setting himself alight in an apparent protest. The 29-year-old poured petrol over himself and lit it in a detention center on the island of Chios.
The man suffered 85 percent burns, while a policeman who tried to tackle him and seize the lighter he was holding also suffered burns to his hands and face.
Videos of the incident, taken by other migrants, have surfaced online. The man, who is being treated in hospital, arrived last week on the eastern Aegean island and had started the process of applying for asylum.
Chios is one of a cluster of Greek islands that have been turned into holding pens for as many as 14,000 refugees and migrants who have crossed from Turkey.
Merkel Praises Turkey on Refugees
The German chancellor, Angela Merkel, has praised Turkey’s role in sheltering refugees. Speaking in Malta, she said it was only right the E.U. should support Ankara on refugee programs.
“Apart from all the criticism we currently have for Turkey,” she said, “they did a lot for the 3 million refugees and it’s right that Europe would assist Turkey in this matter.”
Merkel asked how it could be right that Turkey, along with Jordan and Lebanon, should bear the brunt of the refugee crisis resulting from the civil war. Her comments came after the United Nations revealed that 5 million Syrians have fled to neighboring countries.
The chancellor said Germany opened its doors to refugees because Europe had previously neglected them. “The truth is: we looked the other way when the issue was to finance refugee camps.”
Recommended Reads:
- Financial Times: Syrian Refugees in Germany: Paths Diverging
- The Guardian: Fatima Paid a High Price for Fleeing Her Husband. Will Ireland Take Her In?
- The Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies: Europe’s Failed ‘Fight’ Against Irregular Migration: Ethnographic Notes on a Counterproductive Industry
- The Washington Post: How the Refugee Crisis Is Transforming the Middle East