Hundreds of people reach Greek island and breach Ceuta border

GREEK authorities and aid groups say hundreds of people arrived on the eastern Aegean island of Lesbos in more than a dozen boats in one afternoon, a significant increase in the numbers of refugees and migrants heading to Greek islands from the Turkish coast.

The coast guard confirmed yesterday that 13 boats carrying 546 people arrived on Lesbos, while another 32 people in another boat were rescued at sea and transported to the island. A further 65 were rescued in two separate incidents off the island of Kos and the northern mainland town of Alexandroupolis.

Hundreds of people head to Greece from Turkey each week, despite an Eu-turkey deal restricting new arrivals to the islands pending deportation or a successful asylum application.

Meanwhile, in the Spanish enclave of Ceuta, at least 155 migrants from sub-saharan Africa successfully entered the territory after climbing over fences or walking across a border post separating Ceuta from Morocco, authorities said yesterday.

Seven of the migrants clung to the top of a 6m-high fence for more than two hours until law enforcement officers brought them down and handed them over to their Moroccan counterparts, said the Spanish central government’s delegation in Ceuta.

A larger group of about 250 attempted the breach at a breakwater where the 8.2km double fence meets the sea. Most of them were from West Africa’s Guinea. | AP ANA