More than 12,000 refugees have reached Europe by land since the beginning of the year, a six-fold increase from the same period a year ago, United Nations spokesman Farhan Haq told reporters on Friday.
WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 14th September, 2018) More than 12,000 refugees have reached Europe by land since the beginning of the year, a six-fold increase from the same period a year ago, United Nations spokesman Farhan Haq told reporters on Friday.
"Over one-fifth of irregular migrants arriving in Europe are doing so by land," Haq said. "The most frequently used route is from Turkey to Greece, where authorities report a total of 12,166 land arrivals since the beginning of this year."
Haq cited estimates by UN International Organization for Migration (IOM) showing more than 18,000 refugees arriving by land in all of Europe thus far in 2018, "a nearly six-fold increase compared to the same period last year."
As in previous years, more than half of the migrants making the trip come from Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan, Haq said.
