More than 230 migrants reach Greece in small boats, half via the long route from Libya

International

12-10-2024, 08:54

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INA-sources
More than 230 migrants reached Greece in small boats over the past two days, including a rare case of a crossing from north Africa to Greece’s southern mainland, authorities said Friday.

The arrivals come as Greece’s government braces for a potential increase — that so far hasn’t materialized — in migratory flows due to the fighting in the Middle East.

Nearly half the arrivals announced Friday were people who took a new route from eastern Libya that has emerged this year and is longer and riskier than the more common crossing from Turkey.

The coast guard said 75 migrants who had departed from eastern Libya were rescued Friday from a crippled boat south of the island of Crete. They were picked up in the Mediterranean Sea by a merchant ship after issuing a distress call.

More than 3,500 migrants have made the crossing to Crete so far this year, according to the United Nations refugee agency, UNHCR.
Source- apnews