(Newswire.net — May 18, 2015) — The recent increase in refugees attempting to cross from Middle East to Europe can be explained not only by poverty but also by the danger that ISIS and Boko Haram activities poses in these countries. New reports from Libya have shed a light into these events.
According to a Libyan government adviser Abdul Basit Haroun, ISIS fighters are infiltrating the west, disguised as refugees. On BBC 5 Live Investigates, Haroun said that the boats are used “for their [the Islamic State’s] people who they want to send to Europe, as the European police don’t know who is from IS and who is a normal refugee or not.”
He added that boats operators have to pay half of the money to ISIS, and that some of the refugees are 100% pro ISIS.
“The IS, what they are doing, they are not controlling the boat. They give permission for the boat owner to use the spot under their control and they charge them for that 50/50 of whatever they make,” he said.
The Five Dimensions Consultants managing director, and a former spy for UK security services, Aimen Dean said the fighters can travel around the continent undetected because they doesn’t have biometric data, fingertips or police record in EU.
Earlier this year, European border agency Frontex marked the refugee transition increase as EU’s vulnerability, warned that fighters might be using “irregular migration routes” to reach the continent.
Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime and other organizations, warned about same issue, however, some other EU organizations believe that it is highly unlikely to ISIS sand troop in EU by boat, disguised as refugees.
“I have heard some other people say that this is potentially happening, so I can’t totally discount it. But I am still very skeptical – why would they bother trying such a risky route?” said Raffaello Pantucci from the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), a security research organization.
Apparently, the journey from North Africa to Europe is an extremely dangerous one. Reportedly, over 3,500 people died during the attempts to cross various routes from N. Africa to Europe in 2014 alone. A total of 1,800 have died so far this year, which represent the 20% increase from the same period last year, according to the UN Refugee Agency.
European ministers are discussing plans for military strikes against migrant boats before they can leave North Africa.