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13,000 migrants illegally enter EU in March: Frontex

Xinhua, April 12, 2017 Adjust font size:

Almost 13,000 migrants illegally crossed into the European Union (EU) in March, 10 percent more than in February, said Frontex, the European Border and Coast Guard Agency, on Wednesday.

The total number of illegal border crossings by migrants in the first quarter fell 70 percent from the same period of last year to 32,650, according to Frontex's statement.

Italy continued to face high migratory pressure last month along the three main migratory routes -- the Central Mediterranean, the Eastern Mediterranean, and the Western Balkans.

The number of migrants arriving in Italy through the Central Mediterranean route in March rose by more than one-fifth to 10,800 compared to February.

Nationals from Bangladesh, Nigeria, and Guinea accounted for the largest number of migrant arrivals.

The number of migrants coming to the Greek islands grew to 1,690 due to better weather. This was up by almost a half from February, but only six percent of the figure from a year ago.

On the Western Balkans route, fewer than 380 people were detected making illegal border crossings, representing barely seven percent of the figure in March 2016. Endit