Britain to join NATO effort to deter migrant smugglers

A British official has announced Monday that Britain will deploy naval vessels in support of a NATO mission to deter the smugglers who take migrants and refugees from Turkey to Syria across the Agean Sea.

Prime Minister David Cameron believes the mission represents "an opportunity to stop the smugglers and send out a clear message to migrants contemplating journeys to Europe that they will be turned back".

"This migration crisis is the greatest challenge facing Europe today," Cameron announced in a statement which was released before he headed to Brussels for a summit of EU leaders on Monday. 

On early February NATO ships were deployed to the Aegean Sea following a request from NATO-members Turkey, Greece and Germany to limit the inflow of refugees from Turkey into Europe and deter smugglers.

"We've got to break the business model of the criminal smugglers and stop the desperate flow of people crammed into makeshift vessels from embarking on a fruitless and perilous journey,” said Cameron.

The mission is reportedly under German command. There are at least three ships deployed in the Aegean participating in this operation. Turkish and Greek coastguards will also cooperate with the NATO vessels.

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu has also asked the world not to leave it up to Turkey, which is hosting 2.7 million Syrian refugees, to deal with this crisis alone.

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