Apparently, Europe’s open borders are now being enforced by NATO naval assets:
NATO sending 3 warships to Aegean Sea to help with refugee crisis and stem human smuggling. https://t.co/VrXZyNXl8D
— Micah Grimes (@MicahGrimes) February 11, 2016
From NBC News:
Jens Stoltenberg, NATO’s secretary general, said the three ships currently under German command had been ordered to move to the area “without delay” to stymie deadly smuggling works.
The vessels — from Standing NATO Maritime Group 2 — will be deployed to a section of the Mediterranean called the Aegean Sea, a body of water separating Greece and Turkey that serves as one of the main arteries for refugees and migrants trying to enter Europe.
At this point, however, it’s not known how the warships will tell the difference between smugglers and “legitimate refugees”:
"It is not clear.. how NATO will distinguish between legitimate refugees & the smugglers whom migrants have paid.."https://t.co/Lnf2C3oVFU
— N López del Carril (@nicoleldc) February 11, 2016
Reports are that any refugees rescued will be returned to Turkey, which makes this look more like an attempt to stop all refugees from crossing the Aegean than just those brought over by human smugglers:
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"…any refugees saved by NATO vessels will be returned to Turkey." https://t.co/2yPjGITGsK
— Daryl Grisgraber (@DGrisgraber) February 11, 2016
Stoltenberg says Aegean #NATO mission not about pushing back refugees, but DE sees diff? https://t.co/xqebcn0gHu pic.twitter.com/JtLyX0Aqic
— Elizabeth Collett (@migrationliz) February 11, 2016
In other news, a Greek military helicopter crashed in the Aegean Sea yesterday, killing the two pilots and engineer on board:
Greek navy #helicopter crashes in Aegean, killing three https://t.co/xfGNNwA60a
— Douglas (@rubidug) February 11, 2016
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