G7 tackles foreign fighters as EU helps shut 'terror' route
20 Oct 2017 10:40 PM IST
Ischia: G7 interior ministers discussed on Friday ways to tackle one of the West's biggest security threats — jihadist fighters fleeing Syria — as the EU promised to help close a migration route labelled a potential back door for terrorists.
The group kicked off with a working session in a seafront hotel on the island of Ischia on how to deal with the fallout from the collapse of the IS in its stronghold in Raqa.
Italian Interior Minister Marco Minniti warned last week that fighters planning revenge attacks on
Europe following the decisive Islamic State group defeat could hitch lifts back to Europe on migrant boats from Libya.
On Friday, the United States and Italy signed an agreement to share their fingerprint databases in a bid to root out potential extremists posing as migrants or refugees.
The "technical understanding" signed by Minniti and Elaine Duke, acting US Homeland Security Secretary, aims "to ascertain whether (migrants, asylum seekers or refugees) are noted criminal suspects or terrorists", Minniti's office said.
Earlier, EU President Donald Tusk promised the bloc would fork out more funds to help shut down the perilous crossing from Libya to Italy — a popular path for migrants who hope to journey on to Europe.
The bloc would offer "stronger support for Italy's work with the Libyan authorities", and there was "a real chance of closing the central Mediterranean route", he said.
Italy has played a major role in training Libya's coastguard to stop human trafficking in its territorial waters, as well as making controversial deals with Libyan militias to stop migrants from setting off.
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