Nearly 1,500 refugees passed into Greece in August

Over 1,200 returned to Turkey

The number of refugees and illegal migrants that have landed in the Greek islands of the northern Aegean Sea have reached 1,421 since the start of the month of August. 569 entered Samos, 458 Chios and 394 Lesvos, while according to official data from the Turkish coast guard, 1,265 people headed towards the Greek isles were intercepted and returned to Turkey. The competent body of the Greek Interior Ministry said that an aggregate of 10,327 refugees and illegal migrants who were hosted at reception and identification centres, as well as other facilities in the islands of the northern Aegean had filed for asylum papers. The conditions in the organised hotspots on the islands are particularly bad. In Moria in Lesvos, there are over 3,500 being hosted with an official capacity of 2,330. In Samos, where the official capacity is 700, there are 1,984. Chios is the only island where the cap has not been reached as it hosts 838 people with a 1,100 capacity.