Highlights:
On April 4, 2016 the deportations under the EU-Turkey agreement began, with 386 people returned from Greece to Turkey over the course of the month. Pakistanis, Afghans, Sri-Lankans, Moroccans, and Bangladeshis were reportedly among those who were deported. Additionally, 135 Syrians were resettled from Turkey to European countries in April.
Arrivals to Europe, via the Eastern Mediterranean route to Greece and the Bulgarian border, continued to decline in April. The 3,650 recorded sea arrivals in Greece throughout April marked an 86% decrease from the 23,321 arrivals in March.
Significant border closures and ongoing conflict in Syria continued to leave thousand of Syrians stranded outside both the Turkish and Jordanian borders. In April more than 40,000 Syrians were displaced by escalated fighting in Aleppo bringing the total number of people stranded outside the Turkish border to more than 100,000. Additionally, at least 50,000 people were stranded on a desert berm outside Syria’s border with Jordan.
This summary of inter and intra-regional displacement and displacement-induced mobility is produced by DRC Middle East and North Africa regional office drawing widely on available sources. It covers events, trends and data for the Middle East region (Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey, Iraq) and is accessible at https://drc.ngo/where-we-work/middle-east-and-north-africa
A note on terminology: Throughout this report the term migrant/refugee is used for all persons involved in mixed migration flows (including asylum seekers, trafficked persons, migrants, refugees) with the exception of Syrians who are recognised as persons in need of international protection. If the group mentioned refers only to refugees or asylum seekers or trafficked persons or migrants it will be clearly stated.
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