Migrants in five Aegean hot spots rise above 15,000 mark

The number of migrants on the five islands of the eastern Aegean with so-called "hot spots" to accommodate arrivals from neighboring Turkey rose above 15,000 over the weekend, according to government figures.

On Lesvos, an official count shows that 6,147 migrants are awaiting either the outcome of their asylum applications or deportation with 4,210 on Chios, 2,707 on Samos, 2,016 on Kos and 826 on Leros.

In a reshuffle over the weekend, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras made the Migration Ministry autonomous, removing it from the umbrella of the Interior Ministry, in recognition of the additional attention required for tackling the refugee crisis.

Yiannis Mouzalas kept his post as Migration Minister.