IOM: Over 141,000 refugees entered Europe via Mediterranean in 2016

Over 141,000 refugees have arrived in Europe via the Mediterranean sea since the beginning of 2016, according to the International Organisation for Migration (IOM).

The organisation said in a statement on Tuesday that 9,294 refugees arrived in Italy and 131,847 arrived in Greece via the Mediterranean between 1 January and 7 March.

Sealed borders:

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According to the statement, the majority of the refugees were Syrians, while others were Iraqis and Afghans.

A total of 444 people died during their trips within the same period in the Mediterranean.

According to the statement, Germany was the preferred destination for refugees where a total of 153,099 applied for asylum within the first two months of the year.

Since 1 January 2016, 6,929 refugees took refuge in Sweden, 5,500 in the Netherlands, 1,620 in Denmark, 1,019 in Finland and 92 in Norway.

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