NATO Steps in to Prevent People-Smuggling Between Greece, Turkey in the Aegean Sea
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) has taken the responsibility of securing migrants in the Aegean Sea to avoid being victims of human smuggling in Turkey to Greece. According to BBC, NATO ships have already been deployed to secure the area and prevent smugglers from entering it.
As part of NATO's assurance that their presence is not about driving away migrants, NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said that their primary responsibility is to conduct surveillance and gather information that will significantly help intercept human smugglers.
U.S. Defense Secretary Ashton Carter implied that the act of protecting poor migrants from smugglers will make a huge impact on the humanitarian mission. Human smuggling may not be on NATO's list of responsibilities, but its current coalitions and responsibility of averting illegal activities at sea basically covers the similar mission.
NATO is also believed to be the perfect agency to hold the job because of its ability to patrol on each country's waters. Unlike delegating the job to both countries, certain provisions will prevent them from entering each other's territory. NATO can do both and will extensively show more capability in terms of surveillance.
The current distress on human smuggling has raised alarm between Turkey and Greece. These smugglers allegedly take migrants from Turkey and transport them to Greece. Currently, NATO has its Standing Maritime Group 2 at the Aegean Seas under its German command. Despite expecting five patrol ships to survey and secure the area, only three have been currently been deployed.
According to USA Today, the details of the security request are currently being worked out. The European Union (EU) and coast guard must first be taken into consideration before plans are laid out.
"This is about helping Greece, Turkey and the European Union with stemming the flow of migrants and refugees and coping with a very demanding situation," Stoltenberg said.
He also disclosed that this is not the only mission that NATO has stepped in lately. They have also agreed to provide support on the surveillance of the ISIS.
Meanwhile, the International Organization for Migration has recorded roughly around 76,000 migrants arriving in Europe in the early part of 2016. As of Monday, a combined record of dead or missing migrants have reached 319.
The Syrian war has driven thousands of people from their own homes and now traveling the perilous Aegean Sea to get to Europe.
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