Up to 70,000 migrants may be trapped in Greece next month
The number of refugees and migrants trapped in Greece may reach 70,000 in coming weeks, Greece's migration minister said, adding that a NATO plan to crack down on smugglers could limit migrant flows significantly.
Greece, a primary gateway to Europe for tens of thousands of people fleeing war in the Middle East and beyond, has been inundated with refugees and migrants after border shutdowns through the Balkans, stranding thousands in the country in the past ten days.
"We estimate that we will have a number of people trapped in our country which will be between 50,000 and 70,000... I believe in the coming month," Migration Minister Yannis Mouzalas told Greek Mega TV.
About 22,000 migrants and refugees were already in Greece, he said.
At Idomeni, a small community on Greece's northern border with Macedonia, a Reuters witness saw dozens of people, including families, walking towards the frontier to join an estimated 6,000-7,000 more at a makeshift camp where many pitched tents in a field close to a razor wire fence. More buses with migrants were on their way.
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The plan is aimed at complementing an EU accord with Turkey to stem the flow of refugees arriving in Europe.
