Facebook fake news fuels EU crisis
-----------------------------------------
Belarusian ruler Alexander Lukashenko’s people smuggling network uses front companies in the Middle East, clandestine money transfers, and fake Facebook reports promising entry to the EU
-----------------------------------------
NORWAY 
DENMARK
NETH.
GERMANY
Berlin
EST. 
SWEDEN
Brest
UKRAINE
Warsaw
POLAND
Minsk
LATVIA
LITHUANIA 
BELARUS
Moscow
RUSSIA
Grodno

6 5 1 4

Aug-Nov: 30,000 attempts to cross Belarus border – 17,000 in October alone

Jan-Nov: 7,832 illegal entries, 5,285 in October

Kuznica border crossing

400km 250 miles
----------------------------------------
1 People smugglers: Create fake accounts on Facebook and Telegram posing as migrants, promising easy entry to EU via Belarus

2 Travel agencies: Smugglers in Belarus and Middle East organise one-way flights to Minsk. Typical cost of $14,000 per family

3 Visas: Belarusian consulates
in Turkey, Lebanon and Iraq supply tourist visas. Fees have risen from $1,200 to $2,500

4 Minsk: Up to 400 migrants arrive every day – currently 40 flights per week from Middle 
East
Belarus state carrier Belavia now operates flights from Antalya
to Grodno and Brest

5 Border: Belarusian authorities arrange journey to border – troops cut through border fencing at night to allow migrants into Poland

6 Smugglers: Journey from Belarus border to Germany takes 14 hours and costs $2,000 per migrant

Jul-Nov: 600 flights from Middle East to Minsk – most by Belavia
Minsk
BELARUS
2 3
Istanbul 
Antalya
Beirut
Baghdad 
Dubai
---------------------------------------------
Sources: Associated Press, BelTA, DW, New York Times, Spiegel © GRAPHIC NEWS
-----------------------------------------
 words: 236