Austrian soldiers start carrying out checks for refugees and migrants at border with Italy

An Austrian soldier stands guard during border controls at a highway toll station CREDIT: REUTERS

Austrian soldiers have been deployed to the border with Italy for the first time to block illegal migrants.

The measure, which was announced by Vienna last month is a significant escalation of border security and comes ahead of elections in October in which the government will try to head off a challenge from Right-wing, anti-immigration parties.

Soldiers, acting in conjunction with police, started carrying out checks on vehicles and trains north of the Brenner Pass, the main crossing point between the two countries.

Comments

Carthy calls on Coveney to intervene in case of Hunger-striking refugees in Greece

Sinn Féin MEP Matt Carthy has called on the Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney to urgently intervene in the case of asylum seekers in Greece who have been on hunger strike for over a month. Bahrooz Arash, and Kozhin Hussein are demanding an end to arbitrary imprisonment and inhumane treatment including psychological and physical abuse of refugees in Moria detention centre. Matt Carthy said: “I have contacted the Irish Minister for Foreign Affairs, The Irish Embassy in Greece and Christos Stylianides EU Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid & Crisis regarding the disturbing case of asylum seekers in Greece who have been on hunger strike for over a month now. “The Hunger strikers are seeking an end to arbitrary imprisonment and inhumane treatment including psychological and physical abuse of refugees in Moria detention centre. “Bahrooz Arash is now in a particularly bad condition having lost 16kgs since his hunger strike began. “Despite medical opinio...

'Second Calais' grows in France as Macron pledges to rid country of migrant camps

Violence, alcohol abuse and reports of rape have become a daily routine for people in and around an illegal migrant camp in the town of Metz in north-eastern France, where "a second Calais" is said to be emerging. Reports of appalling living conditions have been emanating from Metz, where hundreds of migrants have set up camp. Although the illegal site has been dismantled several times, more people arrive and start it all up again. " The city of Metz was not prepared for the camp. The authorities emptied it, but now there are 700 refugees back there again. It's becoming a second Calais ," a concerned local woman told RT's Charlotte Dubenskij. " This problem has to be addressed quickly, for their sake as well as for us ," another local woman said. Even aid workers don't feel safe at the camp which has been dubbed a " humanitarian slum ." " There is a problem with alcohol and violence. Even as an aid worker, I've...

116,000 migrants arrive in Europe in 2017, 2,405 dead - IOM

A total of 116,692 migrants has arrived in Europe in 2017, with 2,405 deaths, according to an estimate from the International Organization for Migration (IOM). About 85% arrived in Italy, with the rest of the arrivals in Greece, Cyprus and Spain, it said. At the same time in 2016, arrivals had already reached more than double this year's figure, at 263,436.

Signals

Search This Blog