Dec 30, 2015, 8:58 AM

Frontex sends 300 guards in migrant mission to Greece

BRUSSELS, Dec. 30 (MNA) – European Union border agency Frontex said it had started to deploy almost 300 officers and 15 vessels on Greek islands to help Athens cope with the massive influx of migrants to its shores.

The guards "will assist in identifying and fingerprinting of arriving migrants, along with interpreters and forged document experts," Frontex said in a statement on Tuesday.

"The number of border guards deployed will gradually increase to over 400 officers as well as additional vessels, vehicles and other technical equipment," it added.

More than one million migrants and refugees have landed in Europe this year, with more than 800,000 coming via Greece.

Many have died attempting to reach Europe across the Mediterranean, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM).

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PL-33/MNA

News Code 113222