Another five hundred irregular migrants managed to land on the east Aegean island of Lesvos over the last 24 hours, according to local media and coast guard authorities, while three migrant-smuggling vessels were located just outside the island of Kos, further south.

Migrants on Lesvos were being gathered in the capital of Mytilene on Lesvos as authorities issued an urgent plea for supplies and food.

The number of undocumented migrants on and near Kos reached 132, while on the mainland, and specifically along the Evros River on the border with Turkey, another 69 migrants were rescued from a river islet.

In all cases, authorities believe the migrants were ferried onto Greek territory from neighbouring Turkey, a trend that has increased five-fold from the beginning of the year.
Beyond a large number of Syrian nationals fleeing the war in that Middle East country after first transiting through Turkey, a number of migrants from sub-Sahara Africa has also been detected recently amongst the migrant flows, including from Ethiopia, Eritrea and even as far away as Cameroon, all relatively poor countries but without a full-blown war taking place in those African countries.

Authorities, both in Greece and the EU, believe the Syrian conflict is being used by migrant smugglers as a cover to try and transport more people onto EU shores, particularly in the vulnerable south: Greece, Italy and Malta.