Accessibility links

Breaking News

Migrants, Police Clash Again on Greek-Macedonia Border

update

Migrant men trying to remove barbed wire along the fence clash with Macedonian police at the northern Greek border point of Idomeni, Greece, April 13, 2016.
Migrant men trying to remove barbed wire along the fence clash with Macedonian police at the northern Greek border point of Idomeni, Greece, April 13, 2016.

Police along the Greek-Macedonia border fired tear gas Wednesday at a crowd of migrants stranded in Greece as they tried to pull down part of the fence separating the two countries.

Witnesses said Macedonian police fired tear gas at stone-throwing protesters who tried to climb the barricade using blankets provide by humanitarian groups. No arrests were made, and no injuries were reported.

The clashes took place at the Idomeni border crossing, the site of similar clashes earlier in the week between police and thousands of frustrated migrants living at the makeshift camp in the nearby town of Idomeni.

Hundreds were injured on Sunday when Macedonian police fired tear gas and rubber bullets at a group that stormed the border after hearing a rumor that it was open.

Greek authorities accused Macedonian officials of overreacting and are investigating where the false reports came from.

About 11,000 people had been living at the camp since Macedonia closed its border to transient migrants hoping to make their way to northern Europe.

In recent days, buses have been transporting the migrants out of the Idomeni camp to reception centers elsewhere in Greece and hundreds of others will likely follow.

Migransts exit through a broken fence after a protest at the northern Greek border point of Idomeni, Greece, April 10, 2016.
Migransts exit through a broken fence after a protest at the northern Greek border point of Idomeni, Greece, April 10, 2016.

Hundreds of thousands of men, women, and children trying to escape war, poverty and terrorism in Syria and Iraq have poured into the European Union with the EU struggling to cope.

A deal signed with Turkey would send new migrants arriving in Greece to Turkey in exchange for aid and other benefits for Turks.

Human rights groups criticized the agreement, saying the EU is using human beings as political bargaining chips.

  • 16x9 Image

    VOA News

    The Voice of America provides news and information in more than 40 languages to an estimated weekly audience of over 326 million people. Stories with the VOA News byline are the work of multiple VOA journalists and may contain information from wire service reports.

XS
SM
MD
LG