Egypt leader criticizes Europe’s handling of migrant crisis

Egypt’s leader has criticized Europe’s handling of the migration crisis and its refusal to receive refugees arriving at its borders, saying his own country has taken in millions of people who left their home countries

SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt -- Egypt’s leader on Tuesday criticized Europe’s handling of the migration crisis and its refusal to receive refugees arriving at its borders, saying his own country has taken in millions of people who left their home countries.

President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi said Egypt hosts at least 6 million people who fled conflict and poverty at home. He said his government, unlike some other countries, doesn’t hold migrants in refugee camps but allows them to live freely in the community.

For years, people fleeing war and poverty in the Middle East have made dangerous journeys across the Mediterranean and Aegean seas, seeking safety and a better life in Western Europe.

But after the arrival of more than a million people in 2015, European Union nations put up concrete and razor-wire walls, installed drone surveillance and cut deals with Turkey and Libya to keep migrants away.