Published : 03-10-2019
Greece has announced a string of measures to rein in rising migration flows, including pushing back 10,000 people by the end of next year to Turkey and relocating thousands to the mainland from overcrowded island camps.
The plans were unveiled after a four-hour cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Monday, a day after a deadly fire in a packed camp housing refugees and migrants on the island of Lesbos sparked protests.
In a statement, the recently elected government said it intends to deport 10,000 migrants to Turkey by the end of 2020. That would increase the rate from the "1,805 returned in the 4.5 years under the previous (left-wing) Syriza government", it added.
Greece is hosting more than 70,000 refugees and migrants, mostly from Syria, who have fled their countries since 2015 and crossed over from neighboring Turkey.
Around 10,000 people had landed on Lesbos in the past three months alone, according to the Greek government.
Several aid groups working at the island camps have called on the government to immediately evacuate all vulnerable people, including unaccompanied children, who are currently living in Moria in unsanitary conditions.
Greece has announced a string of measures to rein in rising migration flows, including pushing back 10,000 people by the end of next year to Turkey and relocating thousands to the mainland from overcrowded island camps.
The plans were unveiled after a four-hour cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Monday, a day after a deadly fire in a packed camp housing refugees and migrants on the island of Lesbos sparked protests.
In a statement, the recently elected government said it intends to deport 10,000 migrants to Turkey by the end of 2020. That would increase the rate from the "1,805 returned in the 4.5 years under the previous (left-wing) Syriza government", it added.
Greece is hosting more than 70,000 refugees and migrants, mostly from Syria, who have fled their countries since 2015 and crossed over from neighboring Turkey.
Around 10,000 people had landed on Lesbos in the past three months alone, according to the Greek government.
Several aid groups working at the island camps have called on the government to immediately evacuate all vulnerable people, including unaccompanied children, who are currently living in Moria in unsanitary conditions.
