https://arab.news/ypkep
- Migrants leaving Libya hope to reach the European Union and follow instructions from people-smugglers, who for the past few months have been directing them to Crete and tiny Gavdos
- Gavdos lies off the southern coast of neighboring Crete and is about 300 kilometers (186 miles) from the Libyan city of Tobruk across the Mediterranean Sea
ATHENS: Greece鈥檚 southernmost island is facing a significant increase in migration from Libya, its mayor said on Tuesday, warning it does not have the means to cope.
Lilian Stefanakis said the rise was 鈥渁 heavy burden鈥� for Gavdos, which is just 30 square kilometers (11.5 square miles), has 70 residents off-season and only a handful of shops.
Gavdos lies off the southern coast of neighboring Crete and is about 300 kilometers (186 miles) from the Libyan city of Tobruk across the Mediterranean Sea.
鈥淲e don鈥檛 have the capacity to manage these flows,鈥� Stefanakis told Greek public radio Ert. 鈥淚nstitutional solutions must be found.鈥�
According to the port police, 7,300 migrants have arrived on Crete and Gavdos since the start of this year compared to 4,935 for the whole of 2024.
Since the start of this month, 2,550 arrivals have been recorded.
Migrants leaving Libya hope to reach the European Union and follow instructions from people-smugglers, who for the past few months have been directing them to Crete and tiny Gavdos.
Crete does not have any camps to register asylum seekers and offers only emergency shelters for migrants before they are transferred to mainland Greece.
鈥淭he smugglers will not set the rules,鈥� Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on Monday, promising to raise the issue about increased migration flows from Libya at the next European summit.
鈥淣avy ships will be sent outside Libya鈥檚 territorial waters in order to control illegal migrant flows,鈥� he added.
Government spokesman Pavlos Marinakis later clarified that two military frigates would be sent.
Stefanakis said a vessel from the European Union鈥檚 border agency Frontex was deployed and called for further reinforcement on the island.
The northeastern islands in the Aegean Sea opposite Turkiye have traditionally been entry points to Greece and Europe for undocumented migrants and camps have been built.