The U.N. refugee agency made an urgent appeal to Greece Friday to create more reception facilities at a border area with Turkey that has seen a surge in crossings in recent months by asylum-seekers from Syria and Iraq. UNHCR said existing facilities in the Evros border region are overwhelmed after the number of arrivals swelled to 2,900 so far this month, half the estimated arrivals in the region for all of 2017. "Some of those in police detention have been held for more than three months. Conditions are dismal and services are limited," UNHCR said in a statement. UNHCR proposed an urgent increase in the capacity at the reception center in the Evros region, as well as an improvement of facilities and services there, the setting up of mobile reception and identification centers and the transfer of unaccompanied children to safe accommodation.

Source: ABC News April 27, 2018 11:40 UTC