MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Figures for the daily arrival of migrants and refugees, who have crossed the Aegean Sea to reach Greece, exceeded 5,000 last week, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said Friday.
According to a IOM Greece press release, most refugees and migrants are of Syrian and Afghan origin.
The Aegean Islands have been witnessing increasing numbers of refugees, primarily from conflict-torn countries in the Middle East, using their territories as a staging point on their route from Turkey to the European Union.
According to IOM's most recent estimates, over 245,000 people have crossed the Mediterranean to Greece since the beginning of 2015.
More than 2,700 people have died while attempting to cross the Mediterranean Sea to Europe in 2015, according to the organization.
