Greece announces major overhaul of migrant camp system

Greece anunced plans Wednesday to overhaul its migration manment system, replacing overcrowded refugee camps on islands with smaller detention facilities and moving some 20,000 asylum seekers to mainland over next few weeks.

Deputy Defense Minister Alkiviis Stefanis anunced changes following a surge in number of arrivals from nearby Turkey —with number of migrants and refugees w exceeding islands’ populations in some cases.

Camps on Lesbos and four or islands in eastern Aegean Sea are suffering dramatic overcrowding ahe of winter, with hundreds of families sleeping in tents and often in poor sanitary conditions outside official facilities.

“In short term, we will return security and control to areas affected by crisis,” Stefanis, Greek minister, said. “rmal life will return to se areas and measures will be taken to safeguard m from future threats, with an emphasis placed on deterrence.”

planned changes are most significant since a landmark deal in 2016 between Turkey and European Union to limit migration to Europe.

Meanwhile, humanitarian ship Ocean Viking rescued ar 30 people from a boat in distress off Libyan coast, bringing total number of migrants aboard rescue vessel to 125, Doctors Without Borders said on Twitter. Survivors said y h been at sea since late Tuesday night. Ocean Viking brought hundreds of migrants to Italian ports last month.

Greece’s four-month-old conservative government has vowed to step up deportations of migrants t eligible for asylum and build up a network of detention facilities to separate refugees from migrants and speed up processing of asylum applications.

Rights groups, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, have criticized government plans, warning that migrants fleeing war zones may lose access to proper asylum screening.

Still, many of changes anunced Wednesday follow recommendations from European Union ncies which are urging a restart of deportations back to Turkey.

Mainland transfers, Stefanis said, will make use of off-season hotel vacancies as well as new camps around country.

program will be mostly funded by EU, which has alrey paid Greece more than 2 billion euros ($2.2 billion) since 2016 deal and has pledged to provide more support for funding, screening, and border protection.