Greek lawmakers have voted to temporarily halt asylum requests from North African migrants arriving by sea, a decision criticized by rights groups as illegal. The move follows a surge in migrants reaching Crete and marks a tightening of Greece’s migration policies under Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis’ government.

Greece says more than 7,000 migrants have been detained over the past 10 days after traveling from Libya to Crete — a surge that occurred despite an overall drop in illegal migration to Europe.

ATHENS (Reuters) -Gale force wind gusts complicated efforts on Friday to contain wildfires on Crete that have razed forests and olive groves and forced thousands of residents and tourists to evacuate.

Greece intercepts over 500 migrants near Crete, taking emergency actions due to rising Mediterranean crossings from Libya. The influx has overwhelmed local facilities, prompting the suspension of asylum processing for three months.

Firefighters were battling a wildfire on the Greek island of Evia on Saturday which was burning forests and forced the evacuation of two villages, the fire brigade and authorities said.