409 have died at sea this year

GENEVA — The International Organization for Migration says 409 people have died this year trying to cross the Mediterranean Sea, and refugee crossings in the first six weeks of 2016 are running at nearly 10 times the rate of the same period last year.

The migration organization says 76,000 people have reached Europe by sea, nearly 2,000 per day, since Jan. 1.

More than threefourths of the deaths have been on the short eastern Mediterranean route between Turkey and Greece — which traditionally has seen far fewer deaths than the much longer central Mediterranean route between Libya and Italy.

The migration organization’s statement Tuesday comes a day after Turkey’s coast guard said 27 refugees had died after their boat capsized in the Bay of Edremit while trying to reach the Greek island of Lesbos.

Also Tuesday, Stockholm police say they have arrested 14 men on suspicion of preparing attacks on an asylum center near the Swedish capital.

Police spokesman Lars Bystrom says various weapons were found in cars during the arrests on Monday evening in Nynashamn, 35 miles south of Stockholm, but they didn’t include firearms. He didn’t identify the men, but Swedish Radio cited local police officers Lars Alvarsjo as saying they were Polish, and possibly members of right- wing groups.

Bystrom said the men were suspected of preparing for aggravated assault and arson.

The arrests come amid increasing opposition to refugees and reports of attacks against refugee centers in the Scandinavian country, which has been a top European destination with 163,000 arrivals last year.