By IAN DRURY and JACK DOYLE FOR THE DAILY MAIL PUBLISHED: 00:02 GMT, 10 February 2016 | UPDATED: 04:20 GMT, 10 February 2016

Three million more migrants to come: Warning over new influx as 76,000 cross Med in past six weeks

Think tank MigrationWatch said 1.8million illegal border crossings in 2015

Claimed that EU's asylum system is 'unable to cope' with influx of migrants

362,000 - 28 per cent - of those claiming asylum in Europe were from Syria

Russian airstrikes have forced tens of thousands to flee to Turkey border

Fears of protests unless Greece scraps plans for migrant registration camp

Up to three million asylum seekers will arrive in Europe in the next two years, a report reveals.

Research by the think tank MigrationWatch says the EU's asylum system is 'unable to cope' after 1.27million people, many fleeing humanitarian disasters in Africa and the Middle East, sought refuge last year – an increase of 95 per cent.

It adds: 'The EU border agency, Frontex, recorded 1.8 million illegal border crossings in 2015. Meanwhile, the EU Commission estimate that around three million irregular migrants will enter the EU between now and 2017.'

Of those who claimed asylum in Europe, around 362,000 – just 28 per cent – were from Syria, along with 175,000 from Afghanistan and 125,000 from Iraq.

The report warns: 'People who face no threat to their lives are also leaving their home countries to escape poor economic prospects.' Of 493,000 asylum applications decided so far, some 234,000 – or 47 per cent – failed.

MigrationWatch says this is fresh evidence that a large number of asylum seekers are economic migrants and that the problem will get worse unless EU nations suspend asylum appeals or introduce a 'deport first, appeal later' system. The warning comes as:

Turkey's foreign minister last night warned that up to a million more refugees could flee Syria if Russian president Vladimir Putin continues his bombing campaign.

Shock figures showed ten times as many migrants arrived in Europe by sea in the first six weeks of the year as in the same period of 2015.

Angry residents on Kos confronted police with hunting rifles and dynamite in an attempt to stop the construction of a migrant processing camp on the popular holiday island.

Turkey is the main gateway to Europe with nearly a million migrants crossing the Aegean to the Greek islands since the start of last year.

The International Organization for Migration (IOM), which compiled the figures quoted by Turkey, yesterday warned that it expected no fall in the number of arrivals.

Russian bombing of Syria in support of its president, Bashar al-Assad, has intensified the crisis in recent days with tens of thousands arriving at the Turkish border as they seek to escape the bombardment.

Turkey's foreign minister Mevlut Cavusoglu last night said more than a million more could be on their way unless Putin brings a halt to the campaign.

He said: 'Lately more than 50,000 Syrians have arrived at the Turkish border because of the Russian operations.

'Turkey has opened its doors to 10,000 of them with the other 40,000 in camps on the border. If these bombings do not stop, that number could rise to hundreds of thousands and even exceed the million Only 12 per cent of Russian attacks in Syria are directed at Daesh. The remaining are targeting the Syrian opposition.'

Meanwhile, another report warns that attempts by Britain and Europe to curb the mounting crisis will fail as long as migrants were looking for jobs and schools.

The Overseas Development Institute (ODI), a leading, left-leaning think-tank, says cracking down on benefits for those entering the EU would have limited impact on the numbers arriving.

It finds that handouts from the UK and other European nations are not acting as a magnet to those seeking new lives in the wealthy West.

The ODI's report warns that 'harsh' policies to deter asylum seekers from heading to the UK are unlikely to work. Compiled from interviews with 52 non-EU migrants, it says: 'People wanted a place that offers safety and security, employment, schooling and education and decent living conditions.'

MigrationWatch stressed that its latest report, based on official statistics, finds that significant numbers of asylum applicants have come from countries where there is no armed conflict – including 72,000 Kosovars and 66,000 Albanians.

But the EU has a 'poor track record' of removing failed asylum seekers or those who overstay visas.

Lord Green of Deddington, chairman of MigrationWatch, says it is vital economic migrants are returned home 'swiftly' to break the link between arriving in Europe and staying on indefinitely.

Read more: MigrationWatch claim 3m more migrants will arrive in Europe in the next two years | Daily Mail Online