The Greek coast guard says it has intercepted 226 migrants in the Aegean Sea and south of the Mediterranean island of Crete in the past 72 hours. All of them are safe and sound. Around 120 of them say they set off from the Libyan port city of Tobruk. They were located south of Crete, intercepted and brought to safety on the tourist island.
The coast guard also announced that dozens of other migrants had crossed in small groups by boat from the Turkish Aegean coast to the Greek islands of Samos, Chios, Tilos and Symi. Five men were arrested as suspected smugglers and brought before the courts.
According to the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), 32,694 migrants have arrived in Greece since the beginning of the year until the beginning of September. According to Greek reporters, most of the new arrivals interviewed in recent days said they had no intention of staying in Greece and were planning to travel on to Central Europe.
© dpa-infocom, dpa:240905-930-223800/1
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