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Friday 24 Apr 2015 - 15:09 Makkah mean time-5-7-1436
Illegal migration
Brussels (IINA) – EU leaders have agreed to triple funding for search-and-rescue operations aimed at migrant boats in the Mediterranean following crisis talks in Brussels, the BBC reported.
The EU will also look at ways to capture and destroy smugglers' boats and deploy immigration officers to non-EU countries, officials said.
The summit comes after more than 750 people died on a boat crossing from Libya on Sunday.
The number of people fleeing war and poverty in the Middle East and Africa has risen sharply in recent months. More than 35,000 are thought to have crossed Africa to Europe this year and some 1,750 have died in the midst of their journey. The estimated toll from Sunday's capsize was the worst on record.
Several EU member states pledged additional naval resources on Thursday. The UK, which was in the past a leading advocate of reducing naval patrols, said it would contribute helicopter carrier HMS Bulwark, two patrol boats and three helicopters. Germany, France and Belgium also offered ships.
AB/IINA
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