Athens, August 3 (RHC)-- A senior official of the Greek government says that refugee camps on the islands of Lesbos, Chios and Samos are dangerously over capacity with the arrival of migrants from Turkey after the failed coup in that country.
The governor of North Aegean, Christiana Kalogirou, warned that there is no room in authorized facilities, with a total of 9,420 refugees registered at the camp. She stated that the emergency situated made it critical to take immediate steps to stop the “constant and apparently increasing flow," according to the Guardian.
The number of refugees landing in Greece since the Turkish coup attempt on July 15 is between 50 and 120 refugees a day, according to officials, who also said the numbers were similar to those before the March accord between the EU and Turkey, where Ankara agreed to take in Europe-bound refugees in exchange for visa-free travel for Turkish nationals.
In the aftermath of the failed coup, Turkish monitors in Greece have been withdrawn, most likely due to the eight Turkish officers who fled across the Greek border asking for asylum after playing a role in the failed coup.
The Turkish government has demanded their immediate return, while Greece has given them three weeks to apply for asylum, saying that the soldiers will be given a fair hearing, but that the Turkish argument for extradition was strong.