NGO: Fewer Migrants and Refugees Arriving in Greek Islands

The number of refugees and migrants arriving on the Greek islands dropped drastically for one day over the weekend, officials said Tuesday.

The International Organization for Migration said this "drastic decrease" saw just 155 people land on the islands Sunday. This was in stark contrast to the rest of November, in which an estimated 100,000 people landed in Greece, an average of almost 4,500 per day, NBC News reported.

Alexandra Flessa, a staffer at the IOM office in Greece, said that one explanation for the temporary drop could be due to training exercises which were being held by the Turkish coast guard on Sunday and Monday.

In addition, the IOM said 14 of the 23 days in November so far had seen no deaths in Greek waters — making November the safest month since August.

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