The UNHCR estimates that over 160,000 people have arrived in Greece as of mid-August. The estimated 50,000 migrants who arrived in July alone surpassed the total number for 2014.
"We need additional facilities on the islands, where we have temporary accommodation facilities for the registration purpose. But we also need facilities in the mainland," George Tsarbopoulos said.
He stressed that if Lesbos was able to provide at least partial accommodation, Kos had no facilities at all.
Tsarbopoulos explained that migrant clashes with police in Kos were triggered by the bottleneck effect of people awaiting registration while coping with the lack of temporary facilities.
Asked whether building refugee camps outside Europe would solve the problem, Tsarbopoulos said it depended on host countries’ commitments to human rights.
"But it is a discussion on the European level, which for the moment does not have any influence on the huge flow we receive," he said.
According to preliminary data collected by the EU border agency Frontex and published on Tuesday, more than 23,000 migrants arrived in Greece by sea last week, nearly 50 percent more than in the previous week.
