Traffickers use new routes from Egypt, Libya
The intense use of new migrant routes from the coasts of Egypt and Libya to Gavdos, just south of Crete, has been recorded in recent months, while increased migration pressure has also been observed in the southeast Aegean and in particular Kos.
The island of Gavdos, where there had been no migration flows in recent years, has seen an upsurge between October and Thursday, with seven incidents involving irregular migrants having been recorded.
These are groups of 20-30 people, mostly men, who cross the Eastern Mediterranean in small wooden or plastic boats.
On November 12, for example, one such boat with 33 migrants was spotted sailing south of Gavdos. They were initially picked up by a passing tanker and then transported by lifeguard to Sfakia, southern Crete. They had sailed from Libya having paid $4,000 to the traffickers. In at least three cases, migrants have been spotted on Gavdos, specifically Trypiti beach. Lilian Stefanaki, mayor of Gavdos, told Kathimerini that there are no facilities for the temporary accommodation of migrants.
In the 48 hours previous to writing, two more such incidents were recorded in the sea area south of Gavdos. The first 17.5 nautical miles and the second 26 nautical miles south of the island, with 38 and 36 migrants respectively, from Egypt, Sudan, Pakistan and Syria. During the autumn, migrants also followed the same route from Libya and Egypt to the coast of southern Crete, where also until recently no flows were recorded.
The migration pressure is great on both Kos and Rhodes, with coast guard officials noting that the quick processing at the Reception and Identification Center of Kos serves as a pull factor for the traffickers’ circuits.
Minister of Shipping Christos Stylianides and Hellenic Coast Guard Chief Giorgos Alexandrakis are expected in Ankara in mid-January for bilateral contacts on the issue of the management of irregular migration.
