With a huge number of migrants attempting to cross the Aegean Sea, the business of people-smuggling has experienced a resurgence. In order to address the issue, a number of NATO members have appealed to the international organization for aid in curbing the smugglers' activities, according to BBC News.
Among the NATO members, Turkey, Germany and Greece have appealed for help. During a meeting in Brussels, the request of the three nations was heard and considered.
U.S. Defense Secretary Ashton Carter stated on Thursday that the NATO Maritime Group has been mobilized in the Aegean Sea in order to provide migrant and refugee crisis support, reports Breaking News.
Of course, among the primary objectives of the Maritime Group is to provide a definitive means to effectively end the practice of human smuggling between Turkey and Greece.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg stated that a number of the organization's warships would be among the ships deployed in the area. With the formidable battleships in the area, reconnaissance and surveillance activities would significantly be more effective, reports Newser.
Stoltenberg further added that NATO's supreme European commander U.S. Air Force Gen. Philip Breedlove has already ordered NATO Standing Maritime Group 2 to be deployed in the Aegean Sea "without delay," adding that the ships "will start to move now."
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