Estimated 207,260 Migrants Enter Europe by Sea in 2016: IOM

An estimated 207,260 migrants and refugees have arrived in Europe by sea in 2016 through 8 June, according to the International Organisation for Migration (IOM)

This compared with an estimated 146,083 arrivals in the first six months of 2015.  

Migrant fatalities at sea - on the Mediterranean routes and the Western African route have reached 2,856, compared with 1,838 through the first half of last year, the IOM said in a statement.

Although arrivals in Greece had dropped considerably since the EU-Turkey deal on migration entered into force in March, Syrians remained the largest group arriving in Greece in May.

A total of 525 Syrians were registered by Greek authorities last month, compared with nearly 30,000 in January. Afghans were the second largest group with 270 arrivals in Greece in May, compared with more than 18,000 in January.

Turkish authorities have detained a total of 56 alleged traffickers in 562 separate casesthrough 9 June, with nearly half of them arrested in February, the IOM said in a statement on Friday. Turkish authorities detained 1,109 irregular migrants in Turkish waters last month, compared with a high of 8,747 in February.

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