- Title: Greece says to begin evacuating migrants camped at border
- Date: 23rd May 2016
- Summary: IDOMENI, GREECE (MAY 23, 2016) (REUTERS) IDOMENI CAMP TENTS CLOTHESLINE HANGING BETWEEN TENTS, WOOD FIRE BURNING CHILDREN PLAYING CHILD PLAYING IN DIRT CHILD WALKING IN DIRT CLOTHESLINES HANGING BETWEEN TENTS CHILDREN PLAYING IN DIRT PUDDLES GROUND FULL OF PUDDLES TRAIN TRACKS TENTS PITCHED ON TRAIN TRACKS MIGRANTS SITTING ON TRAIN TRACKS MIGRANT ON TRACKS IN FRONT OF FIRE TRAIN TRACKS VARIOUS OF TRACKS/MIGRANTS WALKING ON TRACKS (SOUNDBITE) (English) MIGRANT SAYING: "I am staying in Idomeni, no need to go to the camp. I need to stay in Idomeni. Not a problem. (If) police in Greece need to open the train then open the train, no problem. I am staying in Idomeni." VARIOUS OF BARBED WIRE FENCE BEING BUILT AROUND TRAIN TRACKS TO PROHIBIT MIGRANTS FROM BLOCKING THE TRACKS VARIOUS OF WORKERS BUILDING THE FENCE VARIOUS OF WORKERS PUTTING UP THE FENCE BUSES LOADING VARIOUS OF MIGRANTS BRINGING THEIR LUGGAGE AND LOADING THEIR LUGGAGE INTO BUSES TO LEAVE BUS STARTING ITS ENGINE MIGRANTS INSIDE BUS MIGRANTS SITTING AT WINDOW OF BUS BUS PREPARING TO LEAVE VARIOUS OF BUS LEAVING FULL OF MIGRANTS
- Embargoed: 7th June 2016 22:17
- Keywords: refugees migrants border Greece police Turkey
- Location: IDOMENI, GREECE
- City: IDOMENI, GREECE
- Country: Greece
- Topics: Government/Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA0014J16EKN
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Greece will begin in the coming days to evacuate a makeshift camp on its northern border with Macedonia where thousands of migrants and refugees have been stranded in dire conditions for months, the government said on Monday (May 23).
The sprawling camp in a field near the Greek town of Idomeni sprang up in February after border shutdowns across the Balkans left the people stranded there. They had mostly been heading for Germany and other wealthier northern European countries.
The migrants, mostly from conflict zones in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan, have refused to move despite having to sleep in the open in very difficult conditions or being tear-gassed by Macedonian police. They have largely ignored appeals by Greek authorities to move to organised camps set up around Greece.
Giorgos Kyritsis, a government spokesman for the migration crisis, told state TV the evacuation process would begin "tomorrow, the day after and will be completed in a week, at most 10 days".
Asked if the government planned to remove all 8,000 people estimated to be living in the camp, Kyritsis said: "Yes. A thing like Idomeni cannot be maintained. It only serves the interests of smugglers."
The tracks have been blocked by the migrants for more than a month, forcing trains to re-route through Bulgaria further to the east. Some wagons loaded with goods have been stranded on the tracks at Idomeni for weeks. On Monday, workers could be seen building a fence around the train tracks, in order to prohibit the migrants from blocking it again once it is cleared. Several groups of migrants were also seen boarding buses for the government controlled camps on Monday.
Kyritsis said that while the government did plan to reopen the railway it was not planning a police sweep operation at the camp.
A police source said 50 riot police squads would be deployed to Idomeni for the gradual removal of the migrants starting from Tuesday evening. Some 2,000 people who have been blocking the railtrack on the border will be removed first, the source said. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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