More than 131,000 immigrants arrived in Europe crossing the Mediterranean in January and February this year, announced Adrian Edwards, spokesman of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Geneva on Tuesday. 410 people lost their lives in an attempt to reach the European continent.

UNHCR warns that Europe is on the verge of a humanitarian crisis, largely self-induced, in the context of the rapid growth of immigrant numbers blocked in Greece, of governments not collaborating although having concluded agreements in various fields, as well as a result of more and more countries imposing new border restrictions.

The number of refugees and immigrants in Greece who need accommodation has raised to 24,000 people. About 8,500 of them are at Idomeni, at the border with Macedonia. At least 1,500 people sleep in the open air, showed UNHCR's spokesman.

The high affluence of immigrants in this area entails the risk of a shortage of food, shelter, water and sanitation. Tensions between immigrants have built up, fuelling violence and favouring smugglers’ operations.

Greek authorities have set up two camps close to Idomeni, with a projected capacity for 12,500 people, and consider building a third camp in the area. UNHCR warns that Greece cannot manage this situation alone, so it is absolutely necessary to implement the relocation measures established by Europe in 2015. Despite commitments to relocate 66,400 refugees from Greece, EU states have offered so far only 1539 spaces and only 325 relocations have actually occurred, said UNHCR's spokesman.

UNHCR will host an important conference on this topic on 30 March 2016 in Geneva.

Source: UNHCR