Thousands of migrants return home through IOM program

Thousands of migrants have returned to their home countries within the framework of an assisted voluntary return and reintegration program operated by the International Organization for Migration, the agency said on Wednesday. According to the organization, 3,691 migrants were repatriated from the beginning of the year until July 31.

The IOM said that 983 people returned via the program during the June-July period, out of whom 409 left with their families, while 573 traveled on their own. The majority of those who returned to their homeland were Afghan nationals, followed by Iraqi, Iranian, Pakistani, Georgian, Moroccan, Bangladeshi, Egyptian, Moldovan and Indian nationals.

Meanwhile, Greek authorities said that the number of refugees and migrants stranded in Greece came to 57,034 on Wednesday, while 119 people had arrived in Greece over the past 24 hours.