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Horrors of the migrant crisis: All you need to know about it in 25 pictures

Horrors of the migrant crisis: All you need to know about it in 25 pictures

By :  DC Correspondent
Update: 2015-09-04 04:05 GMT
Europe's refugee and migrant crisis has escalated over the summer, leaving the continent divided over how to deal with a flood of people led by Syrians fleeing war in their homeland.
Many believe those numbers are dwarfed by the scale of the problem and European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker will unveil new proposals in his state of the union speech next week. They may include relaxing the "Dublin rules" that Germany has
But plans for the compulsory relocation of 40,000 migrants, to take the strain off Greece and Italy, collapsed because of bickering between EU countries. In the end they merely agreed to voluntary pledges to take in 32,000, plus another 22,500
The EU was stung into action after a horrific Mediterranean shipwreck in April that left 700 migrants dead. The bloc boosted its maritime search and rescue efforts and set up a military naval task force aiming to tackle people smugglers. It is also
WHAT HAS THE EU DONE, AND WHAT MORE CAN IT DO?
The Western Balkans have seen a huge surge in arrivals of mostly asylum seekers fleeing Middle East wars, who cross the region after crossing by boat from Turkey to Greece. Hungary alone reported more than 34,800 detections from January to July, and
Italy has seen 110,000 landings this year, with people taking the central Mediterranean route on rickety boats from Libya. But numbers have slowed due to the breakdown of order in Libya and the danger of the route.
Greece had the most landings with nearly 200,000 this year, the UN says. Greece sees so many because of people getting boats from Turkey for the islands of Lesbos, Chios, Samos and Kos.
Greece, Hungary and Italy are bearing the brunt of the problem.
WHERE ARE THEY ARRIVING, AND BY WHAT ROUTES?
But nearly a fifth of those coming over the Balkans are Kosovans, leading Germany and other EU states to call for a register of 'safe' countries to which migrants can be returned.
Nine out of ten of those making the Mediterranean crossing to Italy are Africans, however.
The top five countries for arrivals in Europe on all sea crossings are Syria (43 percent), Eritrea (10 percent), Nigeria (5 percent), Somalia (3 percent), and others (27 percent), according to the UN.
Syria and Afghanistan were the two countries most represented among migrants entering the EU, according to Frontex.
WHERE DO THEY COME FROM?
Around 2,500 have died this year so far, compared to 3,500 for the whole of last year, it says.
The UN refugee agency separately gives the figure of more than 300,000 migrants and refugees having crossed the Mediterranean so far this year, compared to 219,000 crossings in the whole of 2014.
Nearly 340,000 refugees and migrants illegally crossed the border into Europe from January to July 2015, according to the EU's border agency Frontex. The figure compares to 280,000 for the whole of 2014.
HOW MANY ARE ARRIVING?
Recently people are being drawn by Germany's announcement that it expects to process 800,000 asylum applications this year, and Berlin's decision to become the first EU state to stop automatically returning Syrian asylum-seekers to their first EU
But also the longer people spend in refugee camps in Lebanon, Jordan and Turkey, the more likely they are to realise they cannot start a new life there and want to leave, especially with no sign of the four-year civil war ending anytime soon.
More people are coming directly to Europe instead of staying in refugee camps in neighbouring countries that are bursting at the seams, says Melissa Fleming, spokeswoman for the UN refugee agency.
The situation in Syria, the origin of the largest number of refugees, has worsened because of the rise of the Islamic State extremist group and continuing civil war, so more people are fleeing.
Here are the key questions and answers about the biggest crisis of its kind to face Europe since World War II: WHY IS THE SURGE HAPPENING NOW?
A record surge in numbers, and the opening up of new routes over the Balkans in addition to the Mediterranean sea route, have prompted the EU to call a special meeting on the issue in two weeks.
Horrors of the migrant crisis: All you need to know about it in 25 pictures

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