India says Canada has not shared any specific evidence or information yet
Geneva, February 24
More than 110,000 migrants and refugees have crossed the Mediterranean to Greece and Italy so far this year, and 413 have lost their lives trying, the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) said today.
As of today, 102,547 people had arrived in Greece, while another 7,507 had arrived in Italy since the beginning of the year, IOM said. Last year, the 100,000 mark was only topped during summer, IOM spokesman Itayi Viriri told reporters.
He said that out of the 413 people who had died trying to reach Europe, 321 had perished on the route to Greece. “An estimated 35,000 migrants and refugees have reached the Greek islands so far in February alone,” he said, adding that nearly half of them were Syrians and a quarter were from Afghanistan, while another 17 per cent were from Iraq.
Once they reach Greece, almost all attempt to move on, he said, adding that “we understand that an estimated 26,000 have already passed the Greek border with… Macedonia in February alone.” Not everyone is able to move on.
Thousands of migrants have been left stranded in Greece after Macedonia abruptly closed its border to Afghans, creating a fresh bottleneck as European countries scrambled to respond to the continent’s refugee crisis. Some 4,000 people remained stranded on the frontier on Tuesday as even the crossing of Syrians and Iraqis, who are allowed to pass, slowed considerably, Greek police said.
According to IOM, nearly 20,000 Afghans have arrived in Greece by sea so far this year, along with nearly 31,000 Syrians and more than 12,000 Iraqis.
UN refugee agency spokeswoman Karin de Gruijl slammed the Macedonian move and “all of these measures aimed at keeping refugees out, (which) are causing numerous hardships for the people arriving.”
The arrival last year of more than one million refugees and migrants on Europe’s shores, many fleeing war, poverty and persecution, has caused a chain reaction of border clampdowns, in a blow to the EU’s border-free Schengen zone.
