http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2015/10/07/eu-targets-people-smugglers-mediterranean/73501278/
European Union targets people smugglers on Mediterranean
Jane Onyanga-Omara, USA TODAY 11:04 a.m. EDT October 7, 2015
The European Union launched a new operation Wednesday to intercept people smugglers on the Mediterranean Sea in an effort to halt trafficking and prevent more deaths amid Europe's ongoing migrant and refugee crisis.
Operation Sophia will allow navy personnel to board, search, seize and divert vessels suspected of being used for human smuggling or trafficking in international waters at least 12 nautical miles off the Libyan coast. Many refugees and migrants are sailing to Italy from north Africa to escape conflict and poverty in countries including Eritrea and Sudan.
The operation is led by an Italian aircraft carrier and includes five warships from Germany, Britain, France and Spain, seven planes and some helicopters.
The EU launched the first phase of the operation, called EUNAVFOR Med, in June, focusing on surveillance and assessing smuggling and trafficking networks.
Last week, the International Organization for Migration said a record 522,124 migrants and refugees arrived in Europe by sea this year, more than double the previous high of 219,000 set in 2014. An estimated 130,891 of them arrived in Italy after crossing the Mediterranean, while others crossed the Aegean Sea from Turkey, landing in Greece.
Some 2,621 migrants drowned or went missing in the central Mediterranean so far this year, IOM said. Deaths have also started to increase in the Aegean, where many Syrians are heading from Turkey.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande raised issues including the migrant crisis during a rare joint address to the European Parliament in Strasbourg on Wednesday. The last time a German chancellor and French president made such a joint address was in 1989, when Helmut Kohl and Francois Mitterrand addressed the European Parliament shortly after the Berlin Wall fell.
"There is a humanitarian crisis which we need to confront, with an influx of refugees," Hollande said. "The only solution is a strong Europe."
Received on Wed Oct 07 2015 - 12:05:38 EDT