Over 2,500 refugees rescued by Italy over the weekend

Volunteers and aid groups assisted in 20 separate rescue operations organised by the Italian navy and coastguard.

Refugees disembark from an Italian Navy vessel at the Sicilian harbour of Augusta, Italy on June 10, 2016.
TRT World and Agencies

Refugees disembark from an Italian Navy vessel at the Sicilian harbour of Augusta, Italy on June 10, 2016.

The Italian coastguard says over 2,500 refugees were rescued on the Sicilian coast on the weekend.

Volunteers and aid groups also assisted in 20 separate rescue operations organised by the Italian navy and coastguard.

Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said it recovered one dead body from a refugee boat.

Refugees escaping war torn countries continuously try accessing Europe by boats.

Reuters

German rescuer from the humanitarian organisation Sea-Watch holds a deceased baby, off the Libyan coast May 27, 2016.

According to authorities,1,348 refugees were rescued on Saturday and 1,230 on Sunday.

The UN Refugee Agency says almost 50,000 refugees have already been rescued this year by Italian coastguards.

With the return of good weather, more rescue operations will be carried out in the Mediterranean Sea.

TRT World and Agencies

Former Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu (L) shakes hands with European Council President Donald Tusk after a news conference at the end of an EU-Turkey summit in Brussels March 8, 2016.

Plan to stop the refugee influx and deaths

Most European Union (EU) member states closed their borders and erected razor wire fences to stop the flow of refugees.

Refugees have been stranded on borders waiting for permission from EU governments to pass through or get asylum.

To resolve the crisis, Turkey and the EU signed the "one in, one out" agreement last March.

The deal aims to prevent the loss of lives in the Aegean Sea and break the refugee smuggling networks by replacing illegal immigrations with approved ones.

The agreement only covers the refugees arriving in Greece from Turkey via the Aegean Sea.

Refugees attempting the dangerous journey on the Mediterranean to reach Europe are not a part of the agreement.

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