A woman has died after the migrant boat on which she was traveling capsized off the island of Kos in Greece. Coast guards were able to rescue over 90 migrants from the sea in two different incidents in Greek waters on Friday.
Athens is worried that Germany's reintroduction of border checks could have a knock-on effect across Europe and see migrants being returned to Greece.
A girl and three women have died after the inflatable boat they were traveling on sank off the coast of the Greek island of Samos in the Aegean Sea. Five people were rescued, among them a pregnant woman and a minor.
The Greek government has denied claims that Germany's tighter border controls would lead to "thousands" of migrants being returned to Greece. Greek Migration Minister Nikos Panagiotopoulos stressed that Germany's border controls had nothing to do with any asylum seekers being sent back to Greece.
The Greek coast guard confirmed that one migrant died on Tuesday, and 30 were rescued, after smugglers ejected the migrants into the sea to avoid being caught by Greek patrols.
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has voiced opposition to Germany’s plans to impose tighter checks on its land borders. He said the move amounted to a unilateral scrapping of Europe's open-border Schengen zone. He also claimed that this would further burden frontline states -- such as Greece -- and was backed up by Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer.
In Greece, there is an average of one doctor per 635 people and not enough interpreters, with no physicians at all in over a dozen camps. The Greek NGO Refugee Support Aegean (RSA) warned in a September 5 report of "persisting severe reception deficiencies" and a lack of staff in migrant reception centers throughout the country.
As the EU decides to strengthen Frontex and combat what it says is in part a Russia-orchestrated migrant crisis, activists fear the move could lead to pushbacks driving migrants back into authoritarian regimes.
Smugglers trying to bring migrants from Turkey to Greece's eastern Aegean Islands tried to push some passengers into the sea over the weekend to avoid being captured by authorities, the Greek coast guard said.
Greek authorities confirmed that the crew of a Greek coast guard vessel had opened fire on a migrant boat, killing one passenger. The incident occurred northwest of the island of Symi.
Western states say they have made the fight against migrant smugglers their priority. However, Bram Frouws, director of the Mixed Migration Centre, argues that governments are deliberately equating some migrants with organized crime. In an interview with InfoMigrants, he discusses the concept of smuggling, which he believes lacks nuance in public debate.
More boats carrying migrants from Libya and Turkey have reached southern Greece in recent days. One group rescued from the island of Tilos included a 7-week-old baby.