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Twenty-three refugees, migrants returned to Turkey from Greek islands

Xinhua, May 21, 2016 Adjust font size:

Twenty-three refugees and migrants were returned to Turkey from the Greek island of Lesvos by boat on Friday in the fourth such readmission this spring under the March 18 EU-Turkey deal to cope with the refugee crisis, local authorities announced.

The refugees hadn't expressed any asylum will, according to the Greek police. They are from Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, Algeria and Morocco. Before Friday's action, they were in camps of Lesvos, Samos and Chios islands.

Greece sent back to Turkey on April 6 the first batch of 136 people under the EU-Turkey deal clinched in March to stem the influx into Europe via the Aegean Sea. On April 8, further 124 deportations followed from three Greek islands, namely Lesvos, Kos, Samos. On April 27, another 49 migrants were returned to Turkey by boats from the Greek islands.

Meanwhile, some protests were observed by the local police on Monday in the Camp of Moria in Lesvos, while local authorities expected vice president of the Greens/European Free Alliance Ska Keller, who finally didn't get to enter the camp.

Keller visited the camp of Kara-Tepe, and the open accommodation centers of Lesvos. Her program also included meetings with refugee organizations and volunteers.

It is the second visit of the German politician and Member of the European Parliament for the Greens.

"It's not easy for the Greek government to deal with the refugee situation, although she tries to do the best she can. NGOs and volunteers are absolutely crucial, " Keller told XInhua.

"I really wish that other member states of EU do the best they can, because Lesvos must be considered as a European place, so EU must show solidarity and accept more refugees, " she added.

Moreover, the arrivals of refugees and migrants to Lesvos is dropping quickly after the implementation of the EU-Turkey refugee deal, local authorities said on Friday.

On Friday Lesvos counted 35 arrivals, while the Camp of Moria and the Camp of Kara-Tepe host 3,238 refugees and migrants, according to the local police.

In January and February, there were 42,601 and 31,416 arrivals respectively, while in March and April, the numbers dropped to 14,155 and 1,766 respectively. In April 2015, the island recorded 5,440 arrivals.

According to the Greek police and Greek Coast Guard, in March 50 percent of the arrivals were from Syria, while 24 percent were from Afghanistan and 9 percent from Iraq. For the same month, about 40 percent of the arrivals were men, 22 percent were women and 38 percent were children. Endit