Greece mulls migrant facility on Rhodes to tackle rise in arrivals

Greece is considering setting up a migrant detention facility on the island of Rhodes in the eastern Mediterranean to tackle a rise in arrivals from neighbouring Turkey, Migration Minister Nikos Panagiotopoulos said on Tuesday.

Hundreds of migrants have arrived on the islands of Rhodes and nearby Symi in recent months, local officials say. Images on local media has shown them setting up tents and sitting on cardboard boxes in Rhodes town centre, drawing criticism from local people.

There is no migrant facility on Rhodes and the government is considering setting up a temporary detention centre, Panagiotopoulos told Greek public broadcaster ERT.

"This is our intention. We will make progress on that issue in the coming weeks," he said, adding that consultations with the local community were essential.

More than 48,000 migrants reached Greece in January-October, the second largest number in southern Europe behind Italy, including more than 5,500 arrivals on Rhodes, according to data from the United Nations refugee agency UNHCR.

Panagiotopoulos said many migrants, including unregistered ones, could be transferred to reception centres on the mainland from Greek islands where camps are operating at almost full capacity.

Greece has long been a major gateway to Europe for migrants, mainly from the Middle East and Asia. More than one million crossed from Turkey to Greece's outlying eastern islands in 2015-2016. Many have drowned while attemping the perilous journey on flimsy boats.

The number of arrivals later dropped before surging again last year, overwhelming migrant camps and piling pressure on local communities on Greek islands.