More than 500 migrants were brought to the mainland port of Lavrio, near Athens, on Thursday after being intercepted south of Crete, as Greek authorities move to tackle a sharp rise in Mediterranean crossings originating from Libya.
The group, mainly composed of young men, had been traveling on a fishing trawler that was stopped by Greek officials. They were transferred overnight to a bulk carrier and later brought ashore with the assistance of service vessels.
The migrants are now being sent to detention facilities near the capital.
Officials ordered the transfer to the mainland as reception centers on Crete have reached full capacity. The island has seen a daily influx of around 500 new arrivals since the weekend.
On Wednesday, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis announced a three-month suspension of asylum procedures for migrants arriving by sea from North Africa. The decision—focused on Crete—comes amid growing diplomatic tensions between the European Union and Libya over migration cooperation.
Earlier this week, EU delegates were turned away from eastern Libya due to a disagreement over the format of planned discussions on stemming migrant flows.
Authorities on Crete are struggling to cope with the escalating situation, relying on temporary facilities to shelter migrants, most of whom are reportedly from Somalia, Sudan, Egypt, and Morocco.
