Highlights
The sea arrivals continued unabated during the first two weeks of September, with almost 73,000 people arriving (1-16 September), leading to an increasing congestion on the islands.
With more than 20,000 refugees present on Lesvos, counting for a quarter of the population of the islands, the humanitarian situation became dire and required exceptional measures. The Government implemented some exceptional measures for the accelerated preregistration for Syrians and started to gradually decongest the island of Lesvos. In less than 3 days, 17,000 refugees had left the island.
Tensions with the police, between different groups of refugees and migrants as well as with the local population were reported, mainly on Lesvos, Kos and Leros, as a result of the congestion on the islands, backlog on registration, changing registration policies and lack of dedicated sites.
A peak was reached on September 13, with more than 8,600 people crossing the border with the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. The average number of crossing being 5,800 people. While some tensions, as well as health and hygiene concerns, were reported, the overall situation has been enhanced and the humanitarian assistance improved.
Two shipwrecks occurred during the reporting period counting for the lives of 38 people, while 123 people were rescued.