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Afghan national dead amid cold front in N. Greece

Xinhua, January 4, 2017 Adjust font size:

The dead body of a 20-year-old Afghan national was found on Tuesday in northern Greece at the borderline with Turkey amid freezing temperatures, Greek police have announced.

The victim is believed to have died of hypothermia after crossing Evros river from Turkey in subzero temperatures.

A snow front has gripped a large part of the country since last week. Meteorologists warn weather conditions will further deteriorate until Monday with temperature dropping to minus 20 degrees Celsius in some regions in northern Greece.

Despite the harsh weather conditions, Greek authorities have recorded a dramatic increase in border crossings from Evros lately.

After the European Union and Turkey signed in March last year a deal aimed to curb the migrant influx into Europe, smugglers shifted focus back on the Evros crossing instead of the Aegean Sea.

Under the EU-Turkey agreement, all new arrivals at the Northern Aegean Sea islands which have received the bulk of the refugee flows since 2015 are accommodated at hotspots on the islands until their asylum requests are assessed.

Should the asylum bids are rejected, they are sent back to Turkey. Otherwise, they join the thousands awaiting relocation across the mainland or other European countries.

Due to delays in the procedures, currently some 15,000 refugees remain stranded on the islands in overcrowded facilities.

A total of 62,000 refugees are stranded in Greece since last winter, according to the latest official account issued on Tuesday by the Greek government.

Greek officials have repeatedly assured that Greece has done, is doing and will do anything possible to provide adequate humanitarian assistance to the refugees and migrants.

NGOs keep criticizing Athens and EU of failing to offer decent humane living conditions to the people in need, while protests by refugees and migrants have culminated in recent months.

On Monday, 150 Syrian refugees who have found shelter in a hotel in Patras port city went on a hunger strike to protest poor food quality and the shortage of medical care.

Two weeks ago, dozens of refugees and migrants hosted in facilities on Chios island held a similar hunger strike to protest the lack of heating and warm running water for several days due to technical problems. Enditem