Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) authorities have sent more than 11,803 refugees back to Greece since the country closed its borders to migrants in early March. Nataliya Spirova, director of the FYROM Interior Ministry of Strategic Affairs, told Turkish Anadolu Agency that the migrants had been apprehended and returned since March 8, five days before the mass exodus of around 2,000 people from the camp in northern Greece that formed a “human chain” and found a way around the fence.
Spirova said that 23 people have been arrested since January 1 for being involved in smuggling migrants, and they are due to face judicial procedures.
On its part, the Greek Refugee Crisis Management Coordination Body points to a total of 54,340 refugees and migrants in Greek territory, with almost 30,000 of these in northern Greece and 9,440 at the Idomeni camp near the border with FYROM.
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