Desperate Merkel flies to North Africa to tackle migrant crisis before German elections
GERMAN chancellor Angela Merkel is embarking on a tour of North Africa in a last-ditch bid to address the migrant crisis gripping her country.
Mrs Merkel is attempting to shore up support in Germany and try to wrestle votes back from the AfD
As national elections loom, Mrs Merkel is attempting to shore up support in Germany and try to wrestle votes back from the staunchly anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.
At the height of the migrant crisis, the European powerhouse welcomed more than one million migrants fleeing war-torn countries such as Syria.
The chancellor’s ‘open-door’ migration policy was applauded at the time but public opinion began to sour after reports of mass sexual attacks on New Year’s Eve in Cologne, where more than 1,000 women reported being assaulted.
A further attack on a Christmas market in Berlin, whited killed 12, was perpetrated by Tunisian Anis Amri, who had pledged allegiance to the Islamic State (ISIS).
Angela Merkel has been under pressure to reduce the intake of refugees and as part of her to drive to scale back arrivals she is visiting Egypt and Tunisia.
Scheduled to meet with Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, Mrs Merkel’s government has urged the country, along with the other Maghreb states, to step up efforts to tackle the migrant problem.
Libya, a Magreb country, has been without an effective government after the overthrow of the dictator Mummer Gaddafi in 2011.
Libya, a Magreb country, has been without an effective government since 2011
As a result, the country has fallen prey to lawlessness, with the tentacles of ISIS permeating the country and people traffickers operating out of it, making it one of the main gateways into Europe across the Mediterranean.
The German leader urged Egypt - Libya's neighbour - to increase border controls and speed up the repatriation of rejected asylum-seekers.
Mrs Merkel said: “Without a political stabilisation of Libya, we won't be able to stop the human traffickers operating out of Libya who are responsible for, by far, the most arrivals in Italy
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We won't be able to stop the human traffickers operating out of Libya
"Egypt, as a regional institution, as a regional power, plays a major role here, as do Algeria and Tunisia.”
She is due to meet with Tunisian President Beji Caid Essebsi before flying back home.
An attack on a Berlin Christmas market killed 12
The two-day trip is part of wider diplomatic efforts to address the immigration issue, and followed trips to Mali, Niger and Ethiopia last year.
But a sticking point in negotiations with the African countries is over their human rights records, sparking fears for any migrants returning to them.
The two-day trip is part of wider diplomatic efforts to address the immigration issue
Judith Sunderland, the Europe and Central Asia director for Human Rights Watch, said: "Ensuring safe and swift returns of Tunisians and Egyptians who are not in need of protection is legitimate, as long as the procedures are fair.
"It's another thing entirely to pursue dodgy deals that could trap asylum-seekers and migrants from elsewhere in countries like Tunisia and Egypt that cannot guarantee decent treatment or meaningful access to asylum.”