http://www.startribune.com/ap-interview-eu-border-chief-warns-of-migrant-surge/303762971/
AP Interview: EU border agency chief warns of migrant surge to Greece
through Turkey
By LORNE COOK Associated Press MAY 14, 2015 — 12:20PM
BRUSSELS — The European Union's border agency is boosting its operations
in the Mediterranean Sea near Greece as increasing numbers of migrants
try to enter the EU from Turkey, its chief said Thursday.
"We are worried about the situation in Greece and that's why we will
upgrade our action there and our support to the Greek authorities,"
Frontex Executive Director Fabrice Leggeri told The Associated Press in
an interview.
More than 10,000 people have been plucked from the central Mediterranean
in recent weeks attempting to enter Europe from Libya on overcrowded,
unseaworthy boats. The International Organization for Migration
estimates that nearly 1,830 migrants have died crossing the
Mediterranean this year compared to 207 in the same period last year.
"There is a shift from the central Mediterranean to the eastern
Mediterranean" as more migrants leave Turkey by sea and land, Leggeri
said. "They are moving very quickly, so we have to be flexible."
Earlier Thursday, police in northern Greece said 93 Syrian migrants were
released from a locked cargo train carriage after being tricked by
smugglers into traveling in the wrong direction.
The number of Syrians reaching Greece has surged in the past year as the
civil war in their country continues into a fifth year. Many make the
short hop from Turkey's southwest coast toward the island of Lesbos 9
kilometers (5 miles) away in inflatable rafts. From there, they often
try to board ferries and move further north into Europe.
But others choose to travel by land through western Turkey and across
the Greek and Bulgarian borders, where the Frontex presence is also
being stepped up.
Leggeri also said ships and planes promised for Frontex's Triton
Operation to patrol waters off Italy had begun arriving, including
British, French and Portuguese vessels. The border agency plans to
significantly boost its presence on the Mediterranean from June to
September, the high season for migrant crossings.
"We have already increased by 50 percent in terms of assets deployed and
by June we will be able until September to triple the number of boats,"
he said.
Triton has no mandate to carry out search-and-rescue work but has
rescued thousands by putting its ships in places where they are required
by international law to respond to emergency calls.
Triton currently has 10 patrol vessels, three offshore patrol ships,
three aircraft and two helicopters at its disposal.
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