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Stranded Migrants Determined to Reach Greece-FYROM Border by Any Means

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Migrants and refugees who are stranded in Greece try to reach the Greece-Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia crossing point by any means, despite the fact that the neighboring country has shut its borders.
General confusion prevails after FYROM has decided to shut its borders to Afghan asylum seekers and accepting only a small number of documented Syrian refugees. On Thursday, they only allowed 100 people to enter FYROM.
On average, more than 2,000 asylum seekers from the Aegean islands arrive at the Piraeus Port on a daily basis. They all wish to reach the Idomeni crossing point to FYROM and then northern Europe.
However, the shutting of the border by Greece’s northern neighbor leaves thousands of migrants and refugees stranded on Greek soil.
Greece authorities try to distribute asylum seekers to the various accommodation camps. However, refugees refuse to stay in the camps and move by any means towards Idomeni.
Hundreds of refugees who were taken to the Diavata camp in northern Greece, near Thessaloniki, refused to stay and pushed down the fence and fled in order to leave and reach Idomeni.
Others who were at the Schisto refugee camp near Athens left on their own and made the journey to northern Greece. About 500 of them decided to try it on foot.
As a result, the major national highway connecting Athens to Thessaloniki is full of stalled buses full of refugees and people on foot. At Tempi, police tried to stop them, but refugees staged a sit-in protest. Then they started moving north on foot. As a result, police asked for buses to collect people from the highway and take them to Idomeni.
The Greek police have no clear instructions on how to handle the crowds. They stop buses carrying refugees to Idomeni and later they are instructed to let the buses go.
Thessaloniki mayor: Situation out of control
Thessaloniki Mayor Yiannis Boutaris stated that the refugee situation is completely out of control.
Speaking to Agency 104.9 FM, he said that at the Diavata refugee camp, “People cut holes in the fence and broke out. Many have left the camp and no one can prevent them, neither police nor the army in fear that it may lead to a violent riot.”
“Those who leave are mainly young people. They have their backpacks, their luggage and have taken the road north, to the border. They are not waiting for buses to take them there. The situation is completely out of control,” Boutaris said.

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