Erdogan using refugees to put pressure on Europe

Aya Ezz

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan puts pressure on Europe whenever he faces problems, either locally or internationally.

Most of this pressure is based on refugees and illegal immigrants.

Libyan National Army Spokesman, Ahmed al-Mesmari, revealed recently that Turkey had opened a new route for the travel of Syrian mercenaries from Libya to Europe via the Mediterranean.

He added at a press conference in Benghazi that the mercenaries leave for Europe from areas controlled by the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (GNA), such as Tripoli and Sabratah.

Over 1,000 mercenaries crossed to Europe last week, al-Mesmari said on July 21.

He added that they had used boats given by a European state to the coastguard of the GNA.

The same boasts are being used in illegal immigration operations from Libya to Europe, al-Mesmari said.

Meanwhile, about 483 Syrians had already travelled from Libya to Europe, according to reports that appeared on July 21.

Al-Mesmari noted that Libya would continue to be a launching pad for illegal immigrants to Europe as long as the North African state suffered unrest as well as Turkish presence.

Escaping to Europe

The report, published by the London-based Investigative Journal, said the LNA had succeeded in arresting a number of Islamic State of Iraq and Syria members who were on the road to Italy via the Mediterranean in the past few days.

It added that the number of terrorists escaping to Europe increased dramatically ever since Turkey attended to Libya to offer backing to the GNA.

It said all the terrorists succeeded in crossing to Europe on the other side of the Mediterranean from ports controlled by the GNA.

Erdogan wants to export terrorism to Europe with the aim of increasing pressure on the continent, the journal said in its report.

Huge amounts of money

Traffickers get between $700 and 1,300 from each of those who want to immigrate to Europe from Libya, the newspaper said.

It said most of the immigrants head to Italy and Greece.

In the past period, over 140 terrorists affiliated to Erdogan prepared to escape to Europe from Libya, especially from Tripoli which is controlled by the GNA, it said.