(VOVworld) - The UN High Commissioner for Refugees says 700,000 asylum-seekers will reach Europe via the Mediterranean this year and approximately the same number will arrive in 2016.

Migrants line up after crossing a border from Croatia near the village of Zakany, Hungary, 26/9/15. (Photo: voanews.com)

The UNHCR’s spokesperson Adrian Edwards said the number is based on the number of people who want to seek asylum in Europe. The agency’s latest estimate is issued against the background of the migrant and refugee influx from war-hit countries in the Middle East and Africa which hasn’t declined.

In related news, the increase in conflicts and violence at centers for refugees is causing security troubles for some reception nations.

On Thursday, German police said about 200 Syrian and Afghan refugees at a center in Hamburg had fought each other, leaving 4 injured. This was the third clash in a week in Germany refugee centers.

Also that day, Greece re-opened a sports center which was part of the Olympic Athens 2004 Complex to provide accommodation for hundreds of migrants who are sleeping on the city’s streets.