Austria Threatens to Deploy Troops to Italian Border
Italy summoned the Austrian ambassador after his country’s defense minister warned of plans to deploy troops to the Italian border if the flow of migrants increases.
Austrian defense minister Hans Peter Doskozil told an Austrian newspaper that he expected to introduce restrictions at the Brenner Pass border crossing “very soon.” Austria has sent four armored vehicles to the area and 750 troops are on standby and can be deployed with 72 hours, he said.
If the E.U. does not manage to jointly find solutions to the arrival of migrants and refugees in Italy, Doskozil told local radio, “national measures will be necessary.”
“I am frankly surprised by the comments,” said Italy’s interior minister Marco Minniti. “This is an unjustified and unprecedented initiative, which, if not immediately corrected, will inevitably create repercussions on security cooperation.”
Local officials said there was no surge of migrants crossing the border. But Austria is heading into elections in October, with the anti-immigration Austrian Freedom Party high in the polls.
Austria has made similar threats before, including proposing to build a wall on the Italian border last year. Both countries are part of the Europe’s Schengen zone, mandating free movement across borders.
Uganda Tightens Security at Refugee Camps Amid Militia Raids
Uganda moved to secure some refugee camps in the country, fearing armed groups from South Sudan are trying to abduct refugees, Reuters reports.
“We have increased our intelligence and security alertness … because of signs some bad elements could want to cause insecurity in the camps,” said Musiho Abubakar, police commander in Uganda’s northwestern Yumbe district, the location of the world’s largest refugee camp, Bidi Bidi.
Gunmen wearing South Sudanese military uniforms raided the border village of Gbari on June 17 and seized more than 100 cattle. A few days later, more uniformed gunmen attempted to abduct two refugees in the village, but they escaped.
On June 22, a man who described himself as a South Sudanese military official crossed into Uganda near Gbari and was shot and wounded by Ugandan soldiers. “He was planning to come … and start killing government enemies one by one,” a security source said.
South Sudan’s army denied involvement in any of the incidents and said any group might put on military uniforms in order to tarnish the army’s image.
U.K. Widens Resettlement Criteria to Minorities Fleeing Syria
Palestinians, Iraqis and Kurds who fled war in Syria will now also be eligible for the U.K.’s Syrian resettlement program, as well as Syrian nationals.
British home secretary Amber Rudd said the criteria for resettlement were expanded on the advice of the U.N. refugee agency. Minorities in Syria and families in which one person is a minority will no longer be excluded from the program.
The U.K. pledged in 2015 to take 20,000 of the most vulnerable refugees from Syria who are living in neighboring countries by 2020. So far, some 7,300 people have arrived, over half of them children, according to the Guardian.
Recommended Reads
- The Conversation: Italy’s Bluff to Close Its Ports to Migrant Boats Heightens Tensions in the Mediterranean
- BBC: Do Passports Restrict Economic Growth?
- Devex: Europe’s Risky Experiment: Can Aid Be Used to Deter Migration?
- Reuters: Algeria to Grant Legal Status to African Migrants Amid Worker Shortages, Racism
- The New York Times: Europe’s Deadly Paralysis on Migration