Migrant camps on the Greek islands are over capacity after the Greek coast guard and other nearby ships rescued nearly 240 migrants crossing the Aegean from Turkey in small boats on Tuesday and Wednesday, authorities say.
The Greek migration ministry says nearly 15,000 asylum seekers (14,983) are currently being hosted in camps on the islands of Lesbos, Chios, Samos, Leros and Cos.
The camps, which have a capacity of 13,586 people, were already at their limit on Sunday before new boats carrying hundreds of migrants arrived Monday (October 3) and Tuesday (October 4).
Some camps are fuller than others. At the end of September, the Ministry of Migration said a camp on the island of Samos was 2,000 people over capacity.
Rescues across the Aegean and Mediterranean
The Greek coast guard picked up 22 migrants near the island of Crete and 127 near the islands of Lesbos and Symi on Monday and Tuesday, dpa reports.
At the start of the year, just 4,400 asylum seekers were being housed in the island's camps, reported dpa.
Although there are greater numbers of migrants arriving via the central Mediterranean towards Italy, the UN Refugee Agency UNHCR confirms that numbers from Turkey and along the Balkan routes have also increased.
By October 1, some 30,820 people had reached Greece over land or by sea -- almost double last year's number.
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The Greek coast guard said the actual number of entries is even higher, as many migrants arrive without being registered. The majority of migrants arriving by this route are men, according to authorities.
Greece hopes to extend EU-Turkey deal
The Greek government announced plans in late September to extend the EU-Turkey migration pact at the end of the year.
"We want an agreement. The climate is positive," announced migration minister Dimitris Kairidis, according to Greek state TV ERT.
Greece, he said, will take initiative on agreeing the deal for the whole of the EU bloc, "because we have the more immediate interest," AFP reports.
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The Greek authorities have been moving some of the registered asylum seekers staying in camps on the Greek islands to mainland Greece.
On September 22, dpa reported that over 900 migrants were moved from islands to the mainland. New containers were also being sent to the island of Lesbos to offer more space and avoid so much exposure to the elements as winter sets in.
With dpa, AFP