UNHCR plans for 450,000 Mediterranean refugees in 2016

GENEVA: The UN refugee agency expects the number of refugees fleeing across the Mediterranean to Europe to hit 400,000 this year and could be 450,000 or more in 2016, it said in a preliminary emergency appeal document published on Tuesday.

"In 2015, UNHCR anticipates that approximately 400,000 new arrivals will seek international protection in Europe via the Mediterranean. In 2016 this number could reach 450,000 or more," it said, adding that over 366,000 had already arrived in 2015.

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The United Nations also said  there are currently some 30,000 refugees and migrants amassed on the Greek islands, with 20,000 of them on the island of Lesbos alone.

“It seems that over the weekend the numbers (of arrivals in Greece) surged and then died down,” Melissa Fleming, spokesperson for the UN refugee agency said, pointing out that there were “30,000 refugees on the Greek islands right now.”

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More than 4,500 others were on the island of Kos, which has previously seen clashes between migrants and Greek police, who last month used heavy-handed tactics to control crowds.