21 returns to Turkey, 205 new arrivals on Greek islands

Via News that Move – As the weather continues to improve, increased numbers of asylum seekers are crossing from Turkey to nearby Greek islands in the north Aegean Sea.

Meanwhile, on the 12th of April, 21 migrants were returned to Turkey under the EU-Turkey deal. They were sent to the coastal city of Dikeli from the Greek island of Lesvos. Four of those returned were from Pakistan, nine from Algeria, four from Bangladesh, two from Ghana, one from Afghanistan and one from Morocco.

On Thursday, 13th of April, a total of 205 migrants and refugees arrived on the islands. Of them, 121 people landed in Chios, while 46 crossed to Lesvos and 38 to Samos. That’s after 265 asylum seekers arrived on the islands on the 12th of April.

Accord to official data from Greek authorities, 8,678 refugees and migrants on the three islands are waiting for a decision on asylum claims. 3,250 are on Lesvos, 3,672 on Chios and 1,756 on Samos. This is from a total of approximately 13,000 asylum seekers stranded on Greek islands and not permitted to leave for the mainland.