The EU mission off the Libyan coast has been extended by the German parliament to comprise measures to dissuade weapon smugglers. However, the opposition argues that the main aim of the missions should be to focus on rescuing the migrants.
The German parliament has extended patrols by two naval ships in the EU-led mission “Sophia” to help tackle the waves of the Islamic State (IS) insurgents and weapons from entering the EU.
Angela Merkel’s government agreed on a mandate to continue patrols off the Libyan coast until the end of June 2017. Approximately 950 German military personnel will be deployed as well as the 400 personnel that are already there.
Critics argue that the primary focus should be to rescue the migrants and not waste valuable resources on extended the military patrols.
