'Defend Europe' plan aims to patrol sea and return would-be migrants to Libya

Campaigners, from France, Italy and Germany, said they will keep migrants safe

They crowdfunded more than £67,000 despite attempts to freeze their account

UN's migration body says 100,000 people have arrived in Europe by sea this year

A group of far-right activists has hired a boat to patrol the Mediterranean and prevent would-be migrants from reaching Europe.

The 'Defend Europe' vigilante scheme was announced by anti-immigration campaigners from France, Italy and Germany after they managed to crowdfund the 76,000 euros ($87,000) needed to rent a vessel.

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The plan aims 'to expose the true face of so-called humanitarian organisations, their collaboration with smuggling mafias, and the deadly consequences of their actions at sea,' according to organiser Clement Galant.

'When boats full of illegal migrants cross, our mission is to call the Libyan coastguard so that they can come and rescue them,' he said in a video posted on social media.

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Pictured: A ship hired by the 'Defend Europe' group as part of their plan to pick up migrants in the Mediterranean Sea and return them to Libya

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Pictured: Migrants, most of them from Eritrea, jump into the water from a crowded wooden boat as they are helped by members of an NGO during a rescue operation at the Mediterranean sea

Pictured: The 40-metre vessel which the group, calling itself 'Generation Identity', has hired for its mission

'We will keep them safe in the meantime.'

The United Nations' migration body says that 100,000 people have arrived in Europe by sea this year, the vast majority Africans departing from Libya.

Despite their humanitarian mission, aid groups have come under fire, with some critics saying their presence encourages migrants to attempt the crossing.

Pictured: African refugees and migrants, mostly from Sudan and Senegal, wait aboard a rubber boat out of control to be assisted by an NGO 25 miles from Libya

The UN says more than 100,000 people have reached Europe by crossing the Mediterranean so far this year. Pictured: Migrants in the Mediterranean Sea

The far-right group, which calls itself 'Generation Identity', says the 40-metre (130-foot) vessel is en route to the Mediterranean after leaving Djibouti last week.

It will transport activists from the Sicilian port of Catania and patrol international waters off the coast of Libya.

The group managed to raise tens of thousands of euros by crowdfunding the initiative and rented the boat despite an online campaign by opposing activists who had demanded that PayPal freeze GI's account.

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'By saving these peoples and providing an obstacle for trafficking groups, we can save Europe and save lives at the same time,' said a GI spokesman.