Greek authorities have recorded 462 new arrivals since yesterday morning – the most since the agreement between Brussels and Turkey was struck in March.
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Balkan states are on the alert for any surge in the number of asylum seekers heading for western Europe, as Ankara warns the European Union over the issue and Greece struggles to cope with more than 58,000 refugees and migrants on its territory. Most arrived on the islands of Lesbos and Kos.
It is not clear whether Monday’s spike in arrivals on the Greek islands signalled a relaxation in Turkey’s controls along its coastline, but Greece is already struggling to cope with more than 58,000 migrants and refugees in its camps.
“So far it doesn’t like this is part of a trend, but we are following the situation very closely”.
The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) said 2,808 people arrived in Greece through to 28 August, the largest monthly number since April. So far under the deal, just 482 people have been deported to Turkey but none had applied for asylum, Greece says.
During the same period 6,500 migrants and refugees were saved off the Libyan coast on their way to Italy. In an interview with Athens’ Asylum Commission, the first three soldiers said they had verbally sought asylum in France, Spain and Belgium in order to avoid extradition to Turkey.
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That has pushed the number of migrants and refugees now on Greece’s islands to 12,120 from 5,538 in March.
