AP
Zombie Apocalypse?
The European Union’s (EU) border agency Frontex has accused major charities of colluding with criminal gangs to bring migrants into Europe.
Frontex put its concerns about charities working in the Mediterranean in a confidential report written last month, and seen by the Financial Times. The document said migrants had been given “clear indications before departure on the precise direction to be followed in order to reach the NGOs’ boats.”
Frontex was more explicit in its concern over non-governmental organisations (NGOs) working in the Mediterranean in another report last week, which stated: “First reported case where the criminal networks were smuggling migrants directly on an NGO vessel.”
The border agency also said migrants rescued by charities’ boats often refused to cooperate with debriefing experts, with some claiming “that they were warned [by NGOs] not to co-operate with Italian law enforcement or Frontex”.
Frontex figures show the number of rescues triggered by a distress signal fell from around two-thirds of all incidents in the summer to barely even one in 10 in October.
This shift coincided with a massive increase in NGO activity in the central Mediterranean, with so-called charities accounting for 40 per cent of rescues in October compared with just five per cent at the start of this year.
In their reports, Frontex suggested that one reason for the change in activity could be that NGOs have been operating much closer to Libyan territorial waters. Charities working in the Mediterranean have denied the accusations. ...
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