Refugee crisis: Number of people fleeing conflict hits record level
20 June
The number of people fleeing conflict and persecution around the world has reached an all-time high, according to an annual report from the United Nations.
The total amount of refugees exceeded 65 million last year – more than the entire population of Britain – an increase of more than six million from 2014 and meaning 24 people were forced to flee their homes every minute of every day. The majority came from the conflict-ridden states of Syria, Afghanistan and Somalia.
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"We are facing the biggest refugee and displacement crisis of our time," said UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon. "This is not just a crisis of numbers; it is also a crisis of solidarity."
Despite often being referred to as a European problem, Turkey, Pakistan and Lebanon are shouldering the biggest burden. Turkey topped the list of host countries, welcoming more than 25 million people last year.
"The figure for Lebanon (1.1 million) is particularly shocking, as the number represents almost a quarter of its population," says the Daily Telegraph. "This means that much smaller and poorer countries are taking on a heavier burden than the UK."
Britain has committed to resettling 20,000 refugees by 2020, but human rights groups say the pledge from one of the world's largest economies is woefully inadequate.
UN refugee chief Filippo Grandi urged European leaders to combat negative stereotypes, amid rising anti-refugee rhetoric and support for far-right politics across the continent.
"Those who do the opposite, who stir up public opinion against refugees and migrants, have a responsibility in creating a climate of xenophobia that is very worrying in today's Europe," he told AFP.
Hundred of refugees rescued after boat capsizes in Med
26 May
Swift action by the Italian navy has been credited with saving the lives of hundreds of people after a boat carrying refugees capsized in the Mediterranean.
Italian authorities say the repurposed fishing vessel was dangerously overloaded and flipped over due to overcrowding. Rescuers were able to save 562 of those on board. Five bodies were recovered.
"The trawler overturned apparently as a result of people on board rushing to one side after spotting a rescue ship," says the BBC.
Harrowing images released by the navy show refugees clinging on to the rails of the boat while others fall overboard.
Several boats and a helicopter were involved in the rescue operation.
Flavio Di Giacomo, a spokesman for the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), described it as a miracle.
"You would expect them to save the people on the deck," he said. "But if they've saved 500 people, that means they've saved even the people who were inside and that is very impressive."
Refugees and migrants are attempting to alter their route to avoid the escalating turmoil in Libya, he added: "People coming from east Africa seem to know that Libya is now very dangerous so if they can, they are trying to come through Egypt."
More than 6,000 lives have been saved since Monday, 11,000 since the start of May and 39,000 since the start of the year, according to the IOM.
The perilous sea crossing from North Africa has once again become the main route into Europe after the EU agreed a controversial deportation deal with Turkey, which appears to have stemmed the flow of refugees travelling across the Aegean to Greece.
Italian interior minister Angelino Alfano told The Times that his country's policy "will always be that of first saving a human life and then asking whether those being saved are refugees or irregular migrants".
Greek police start clearing Europe's largest refugee camp
24 May
Greek authorities have begun clearing Europe's largest refugee camp at Idomeni, just south of the border with Macedonia.
The refugees are being taken to specially designed processing facilities near Greece's second largest city, Thessaloniki.
Around 400 riot police watched over the operation, although there were no incidences of violence, with many of the 8,000 refugees leaving voluntarily on government buses, reports The Guardian.
Journalists were reportedly barred from entering the camp and some aid workers also reported that they were also being kept away. Medicines Sans Frontiers tweeted this was making attempts to help those still in the camp more difficult.
The majority of the camp's refugees are from Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan, says the BBC, and many have been stranded there since the border was closed in March.
One Syrian told the broadcaster that despite the poor conditions, he did not want to leave, although he would if he had to.
"I prepared my bags. If they didn't use force, I will stay for a while, but if they use force, I didn't come here to fight anybody. I will just go," he said. "I escaped from Syria because I don't want to fight anybody."
A woman from Damascus told the Associated Press that conditions in Idomeni were better than in the camps to which they were being relocated.
"It's much better here than in the camps. That's what everybody who's been there said," she said.
"It's not good... because we've already been here for three months and we'll have to spend at least another six in the camps before relocation. It's a long time. We don't have money or work - what will we do?"
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