The first group of 19 Eritrean refugees have arrived in northern Sweden from Italy... as part of the European Union's relocation plan. The aim is to share out the burden of the current high influx of refugees across Europe.
The refugees will be registered in Sweden near the town Boden and taken to Ostersund, about 500 kilometers north of the capital Stockholm. More than half a million people have poured into Europe this year as they flee war and poverty in the Middle East, Asia and Africa.
The EU plans to relocate a total of 160,000 refugees over two years from the frontline states of Greece and Italy. Some 100 other asylum seekers will be sent to countries including Germany and the Netherlands in the coming weeks.