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Immigrant crisis in Europe
Police on the Greek island of Lesbos fired tear gas at protesting migrants and were left homeless when their camp caught fire on Wednesday.
Around 13,000 migrants and refugees have been living in squalor in the overcrowded Moria camp and are desperate to get off the island.
The clashes broke out near a temporary camp built by the Greek authorities.
A fire started there earlier that day, near a police blockade, and firefighters had to put it out.
A new camp, Kara Tepe, has been established.
Police said about 200 people had checked into the new camp, while dozens, mostly families, were queuing outside, awaiting hygiene and security checks.
Families have been sleeping in the fields and on the roads after fleeing the fire on Wednesday.
The Moria camp was initially designed to house 3,000 migrants. People from 70 countries were welcomed there, most of them from Afghanistan.
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On Friday, migrants and refugees approached the police barriers blocking the exit of the Moria camp, with posters calling for “freedom” and opposing the construction of a new camp.
There is also strong resistance from the island’s permanent residents to a new camp, and they have been blocking roads to stop the delivery of aid.
image copyrightReuters
The question of how to deal with massive migrant arrivals, mainly to Italy and Greece, has divided the EU for years.
Italy and Greece have accused the richest countries in the north of not doing more, while several nations in the center and east are openly resisting the idea of accepting a migrant quota.
What is being done for migrants?
The new camp will begin to house some of those who were left without shelter since Saturday, said Greece’s Migration Minister Notis Mitarachi.
On Friday, Germany announced that 10 European countries had agreed to take in 400 unaccompanied minors who had been living in Moria.
The Moria fire was “a strong reminder to all of us of what we need to change in Europe,” said German Interior Minister Horst Seehofer.
But a group of charities and NGOs has written to the German government saying more must be done for all migrants, not just minors.
What do we know about the fire?
The fires broke out in more than three locations overnight Tuesday, according to local fire chief Konstantinos Theofilopoulos. Other fires left the camp almost completely destroyed.
The fires started hours after reports that 35 people had tested positive for Covid-19 at the camp. Authorities quarantined the facility last week after a Somali migrant was confirmed to have contracted the coronavirus.
Since then, eight of the 35 who tested positive for Covid-19 are believed to have been found and isolated.
Mitarachi said the fires “started with the asylum seekers due to the quarantine imposed.” Some of the people infected with the virus had reportedly refused to live in isolation with their families.
However, it did not say that the fires were an intentional act of arson intended to destroy the camp.
Meanwhile, some immigrants told BBC Persian that the fire had broken out after fighting between the immigrants and Greek forces in the camp.
