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Clashes erupt as Greek police stop migrants from reaching border

06 April 2019 21:00 (UTC +04:00)

Greek police fired teargas on Saturday as angry migrants hoping to travel to northern Europe hurled stones and bottles after being barred from reaching a nearby border crossing, witnesses said, ONA reports quoting Reuters.

Spurred by a false rumor about border openings that spread on social media, hundreds of migrants and refugees arrived and pitched tents on Thursday in a field next to the Diavata migrant camp near Greece’s border with North Macedonia.

There were dozens of tents in the field on Saturday and riot police formed a cordon to block an access route, parking 20 buses to stop the migrants from leaving the field. Authorities also sent buses to take people back to housing settlements.

At about midday, riot police fired teargas at dozens of people — some carrying children — who hurled stones and bottles as they tried to break through the police cordon and reach the main road leading to the border.

“We don’t want to fight with the Greek police,” said 36-year old Yaser, a Syrian refugee, sitting on a blanket with his baby son in his arms. “We want to go to Europe, we don’t want to stay in Greece,” he told Reuters through an interpreter.