Chief Security Advisor György Bakondi said the civil war in Sudan is expected to increase the number of people trying to enter the European Union illegally, even as large numbers of people have been reported to reach Libya on their way to the EU from other regions in Africa.
Speaking on public news channel M1, Bakondi said illegal migration is a serious risk to Europe’s security and social services and may cause social tensions. In Hungary, attempts at illegal entry have also intensified, with some 39,000 illegal migrants and over 300 people smugglers detained this year alone, he said. People smuggling has become a “huge business” with sprawling organisations and serious revenues, he said. The people smuggling networks have separate “departments” for transport, forging documents, renting equipment and other sectors, he insisted. “That’s why we stress that people smuggling can only be tackled in international cooperation between police and intelligence forces,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Hungarian Armed Forces, working with the foreign and interior ministries, evacuated 32 people, including seven Hungarians, in a special operation from Sudan. Speaking at the Kecskemét Air Base, in central Hungary, after the landing of the Hungarian Air Forces’ Airbus A319, Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky said the evacuees included US, Canadian, Norwegian, Turkish and Sudanese nationals, in addition to the Hungarians. Péter Szijjártó, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, said late on Wednesday that all Hungarians had been successfully evacuated from Sudan. Minister Szijjártó said on Facebook that the last Hungarian nationals, two minors, had been rescued from the civil-war-stricken country in cooperation with Sweden. “They are now in Djibouti, in safety,” he added. He also said the children would be provided with temporary travel documents by Hungary’s honorary consul in Djibouti, and arrangements were being made for their return to Hungary.