SHAFAQNA- Crossings increased by almost 300 percent in the first four months of 2023, the EU Border Agency announced.
According to RT, citing the EU’s border security agency, Frontex, the number of illegal immigrants going to the EU from the central Mediterranean route has reached a record of 42,165 in the first four months of this year. The agency attributed the increase to competition among human traffickers, which has reduced the price of a crossing.
The figure of 42,165 represents a 300% increase on the same period in 2022, with more than half of illegal migrants entering the EU now taking the central Mediterranean route – an often dangerous journey from Libya or Tunisia to Italy or Malta.
At the height of the migrant crisis in 2015, most of those traveling to the EU were from Syria and the Middle East. In 2023, the top five countries of origin are Ivory Coast, Guinea, Egypt, unknown countries and Pakistan. Currently, there is no armed conflict in any of these countries.
A number of EU countries, including Austria and Greece, have called on the bloc to do more to strengthen its external borders against illegal entry after last year saw the highest number of illegal immigrants since 2016. More than 80% of login attempts are made by adult males.
Source: RT
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