The Strategist

Number of Migrants Arrived to Europe Over the Last Month Exceeded Annual Record



11/02/2015 - 16:47



About 220 thousand refugees have arrived in Europe in October 2015. This number was a record since the beginning of the year, Reuters reported referring to the press-secretary of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Adrian Edwards.



Irish Defence Forces
Irish Defence Forces
- This is the highest monthly figure in the history, this number roughly corresponds to the number of arrivals in the past year, - said Edwards. According to the Department, over half a million Syrian settlers appealed to the authorities of the EU countries with a request for refugee status from April 2011 to September 2015.

Refugees often arrive in Europe by sea in ships in a terrible condition, not designed to carry people. As a result, they often die: October 30, 22 people drowned in the Aegean Sea, among them 12 children. Total for October 68 refugees sank in sea as a result of accidents - they were seeking to reach Europe before the onset of winter cold.

The civil war in Syria began in the spring of 2011. The death toll has exceeded 230 thousand people, refugees - 4 million. The rebels, supported by the West and the Arab countries, are in favor of the overthrow of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. They find him guilty of violent suppression of protests and use of the army against peaceful demonstrators during the first phase of the internal conflict. During the fighting, part of the country was captured by terrorist groups, including militants from Islamic state.

source: reuters.com