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IOM Records About 135,000 Sea Migrant Arrivals, Over 400 Deaths in 2016

© AP Photo / Petros GiannakourisAfghan migrant shouts "Merkel help us" in the northern Greek border station of Idomeni , Tuesday, Feb. 23, 2016
Afghan migrant shouts Merkel help us in the northern Greek border station of Idomeni , Tuesday, Feb. 23, 2016 - Sputnik International
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Nearly 135,000 migrants and refugees have arrived in Greece and Italy via the Mediterranean sea, while 418 have died while making the journey, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) announced on Friday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — According to the report, monthly arrivals in Greece have decreased from the 67,415 recorded in January to 55,633 in February, while the total number of sea arrivals in Greece since the start of 2015 has reached 970,911. A threshold of one million arrivals of migrants and refugees in Greece is expected to be reached within the next two months.

"IOM estimates that 134,905 migrants already have crossed the Mediterranean this year. Of these, 125,819 have reached the Greek islands. The remainder landed in Italy. Media reports indicate that arrivals to Spain in 2016 are fewer than 100," the statement reads.

Refugees and migrants sit on board of Turkish Coast Guard Search and Rescue ship Umut-703 off the shores of Izmir, Turkey, after a failed attempt of crossing to the Greek island of Chios, February 28, 2016. - Sputnik International
EU Council Head Sees First Signs of EU Consensus on Migrant Crisis Solution
In late February, the IOM reported about 120,000 refugees and migrants who had reached Greece and Italy in 2016.

Europe has been beset by a massive refugee crisis, with hundreds of thousands of undocumented migrants fleeing their home countries to escape violence and poverty. Many of them take the West Balkan route, which crosses Greece, using the county as an entry point into the bloc from which they travel onward to wealthier EU states where they intend to apply for asylum.

The next meeting of the European Union and the Turkish leadership devoted to the refugee crisis is scheduled for March 7 in Brussels.

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