Refugee, migrant sea arrivals to Greece declining
An international migration watchdog has reported a “drastic” drop-off in arrivals of migrants across the Mediterranean from Turkey to Greece over the weekend.
The International Organization of Migration said Tuesday that 155 migrants reached the Greek islands by sea on Sunday, calling that a “significant” decline in light of more than 100,000 arrivals in all of November.
IOM spokesman Joel Millman says an agency staffer in the region attributed the lower numbers to increased patrols by Turkish authorities in the last few days.
Millman said up 3,000 entered Greece on Tuesday morning.
UNHCR spokesman Adrian Edwards also noted a recent decline in arrivals, but said it's too early to determine if that amounts to a trend.
IOM estimates more than 858,000 migrants have crossed the Mediterranean this year.
[AP]
