Frontex: 1.82 million irregular crossings in Europe
The EU member states registered a record number of 1.82 million irregular border crossings last year, a sharp rise that makes Europe more vulnerable to militant attacks, according to the Frontex border agency.
The number is six times the previous record which was recorded in 2014.
The Syrians are the majority of arrivals, although the proportion of Afghan increased significantly towards the end of the year and the Iraqis are the third largest nationality using this route.
Many of the irregular arrivals were recorded for the first time when they arrived in the Greek islands from Turkey and again when they crossed one of the EU’s external borders in the Western Balkans. Overall, more than one million people migrated to Europe in 2015.
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(Photo: IOM)