Mediterranean refugee arrivals in 2016 pass 351,000

By Fatih Erel

GENEVA

Over 351,000 migrants or refugees have crossed into Greece and Italy since the beginning of 2016 compared with 883,393 by this time in 2015, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM) Tuesday.

Of the estimated 351,080 migrants and refugees that have already crossed the Mediterranean this year, some 173,571 people have arrived by sea in Italy while 171,875 have landed in Greece as of Sunday, IOM said.

Another 5,445 migrants reportedly landed in Spain, while 189 others landed in southern Cyprus. The latter two figures were last updated Sept. 30, and Nov. 27, respectively.

"The total number of migrant and refugee fatalities in the Mediterranean since the beginning of 2016 is now 4,715. This is 1,148 more deaths than at this point last year, when 3,567 men, women and children were reported drowned through November 30," IOM added.

Of the 4,715 migrants and refugees who lost their lives trying to cross the Mediterranean, 429 migrants died in the Eastern Mediterranean route between Turkey and Greece, according to the latest report.

Some 4,223 people died in the Central Mediterranean route linking north Africa and Italy, while 63 others perished in the Western Mediterranean route linking west Africa to Spain, the report said.

Turkish gendarmes on Tuesday apprehended 116 foreigners suspected of getting ready to illegally migrate from Izmir, Turkey’s western coastal province.

More than a million refugees and migrants traveled from Turkey to Greece last year before an EU-Turkey deal stemmed the flow in March.

The March 18 agreement allows for the return of “irregular migrants” to Turkey from Greece in exchange for Syrian refugees to be relocated within the EU.