The Greek islands near Turkey’s coast now rival Italy as the top destination for irregular migrants seeking entry into the EU, even as the Union plans naval operations against the human smugglers operating in Libya.

In its latest Libya Situation Report, the International Organisation for Migration highlighted a shift from the central Mediterranean route – which takes migrants from Libya to Italy – to the eastern route.

As of May 4, arrivals in Greece stood at 26,000 migrants while some 31,000 migrants made it to Italy.

However, two months later, Greek arrivals had swelled to nearly 67,000 migrants, with only 700 migrants fewer than Italy’s.

But this change in the migratory pattern comes, ironically, at a time when the EU, in its efforts to tackle the migration crisis, embarks on long-awaited naval operations to counter Libyan human smugglers.

Fifteen ships, aircraft and drones from at least 10 EU countries are being used to monitor the activity of smugglers’ boats carrying migrants from Libya to Italy.

The vessels are only allowed to operate outside Libyan waters for the moment. Brussels said it will wait for Libya to form a national unity government and then seek its consent to operate within Libyan waters.

Known as EUNAVFOR (European Union Naval Force), the first phase of the operation, which kicked off on June 22, focuses on surveillance and assessment of human smuggling and trafficking networks in the southern central Mediterranean.

The second stage will provide for search and, if necessary, diversion of suspicious vessels while the third phase would allow the forces to dispose of vessels and related assets, preferably before use, and to apprehend traffickers and smugglers.

Last month, the remains of 30 migrants were discovered in the desert in Niger’s Agadez crossroads, adding further to the growing death toll of Africans and Middle Easterners believed to have perished on their way to Europe, the IOM said.

Since the migration crisis broke out in mid-July last year, the IOM managed to support or organise the travel of 997 migrants from 18 different countries to return home safely or to resettle in a third country.

IOM is currently working on organising the evacuation of a group of approximately 100 migrants from Senegal and Gambia, who are stranded in the Kararim retention centre in Misurata.

Migrant arrivals since January

Italy: 67,635
Greece: 66,946
Malta: 92
Spain: 1,217
Total: 135,890

*Source: International Organization for Migration. Data as of July 1.