53,000 migrants, some with refugee status, have been evacuated from make-shift street camps in the Paris area over the past four years. Yet the camps keep springing up and hundreds are being forced to sleep rough, as the French authorities fail to find a solution.
A group of migrants staying at a gathering and departure facility (GDF) in the Libyan capital Tripoli have been accusing the UN Refugee Agency UNHCR, which administers the camp alongside the UN-backed Libyan government, of "starving them out" in order to relieve pressure on the over-crowded and over-burdened facilities. A charge the UNHCR denies.
Conditions in the Vucjak refugee camp in the northwest of the country are dire. The makeshift camp, which was put up in the summer, is dirty, unhygienic, and everything is in short supply as winter approaches.
The Vucjak migrant camp in Bosnia and Herzegovina is reportedly about to be shut down following sustained criticism of its dangerous living conditions. The European Council’s human rights chief welcomed the closure.
UNHCR has reported that it is widening its response in Iraq to deal with the continuing influx of refugees. The UN refugee agency on Tuesday said over the past two weeks, more than 12,000 Syrian refugees have fled to Iraq.
Greece has seen a 200% increase in the number of refugee arrivals in recent months. It's forced Athens to introduce fresh measures to handle the new migrant crisis. But there are serious fears that migration flows may grow even further in the wake of Turkey's offensive in Syria. Anthee Carassava reports from Athens on how Greece's ancient tradition of hospitality to foreigners is fading.
According to UNHCR statistics, more than 40% of almost 3,000 migrants and refugees in Serbia come from Afghanistan. Most of them hope to enter Hungary or Croatia to get into the EU, However, with Hungary's border closed down and the Croatian border being closely monitored, leaving Serbia is proving to be a difficult task.
The governor of the Moria migrant camp on the Greek island of Lesbos has unexpectedly announced his resignation, citing personal reasons. The camp has long been criticized for overcrowded and unsanitary conditions.
Cyprus desperately needs the EU's assistance to deal with the influx of migrants. Those already there are facing atrocious conditions while they wait for their applications to be processed.
Doctors Without Borders (MSF) has said that disastrous EU policies have led to thousands of vulnerable migrants being “trapped on the Greek islands in horrendous conditions.” It noted that there has been a fresh spike in arrivals recently and that children have tried to commit suicide and are engaging in self-harm.
UNICEF demands that Greece offer better protection to refugee and migrant minors. There are about 1,100 children currently housed in migrant camps and reception centers across the Greek islands — the highest number registered since April 2016.
A 15-year-old Afghan minor has been killed at the Moria migrant camp on the island of Lesbos during a violent brawl. The UN refugee agency UNHCR has in response called on the Greek government to urgently transfer migrant youths away to safe areas.