Around 20,000 people arrived in Italy this year, compared to 6,100 in the same period in 2022.
Russian mercenaries from the private military company Wagner are behind an influx of migrant shipments trying to cross the Mediterranean to Europe. This was announced on Monday, March 13, by Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto, Reuters wrote.
According to the security official, in this way Russia is taking revenge on the countries that support Ukraine.
“I think it is now safe to say that the flow of migrants from African countries is largely part of a clear hybrid war strategy implemented by the Wagner PMC, using its significant weight in several African countries ,” said the minister.
He also pointed out that around 20,000 people arrived in Italy this year, compared to 6,100 in the same period in 2022.
At the same time, Crosetto called on NATO allies to help Italy cope with the increasing number of migrants arriving in the country.
“NATO becomes stronger if the problems that arise as a result of collective choice are also shared among the members. But the alliance risks breaking up if the countries most prone to various problems are not helped,” said the minister.
In turn, the leader of the “Wagnerites” Yevgeny Prigozhin responded to Crosetto’s statement with an audio message with obscene language on Telegram: “We have no idea what is happening with the migrant crisis, it does not concern us .” He used some obscene words to describe Crosetto and urged him to turn his attention to his own country.
Wagner forces are operating in Libya, Mali and the Central African Republic.
Earlier in Italy, near the city of Crotone in the region of Calabria, a fishing boat sank, where migrants hoped to reach southern Italy.
It should be reminded that since February 10, Poland has closed the border crossing with Belarus Bobrovniki – Berestovitsa for security purposes. Belarus, on the other hand, criticized this decision.
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Source: korrespondent
I am David Wyatt, a professional writer and journalist for Buna Times. I specialize in the world section of news coverage, where I bring to light stories and issues that affect us globally. As a graduate of Journalism, I have always had the passion to spread knowledge through writing.