Macedonia police tear gas migrants on Greek border

Macedonia police on Wednesday fired tear gas and stun grenades at migrants staging a protest at the country's border fence with Greece, an AFP reporter said.

About 100 migrants spread out over about 100 metres (yards) tugging at the wire fence, but swiftly pulled back when two squads of Greek riot police moved in, the reporter said.

The Greek riot police positioned themselves between the migrants and the Macedonian fence, ending the incident.

It occurred just a few hundred metres away from Macedonia President Gjorge Ivanov, who is visiting the Gevgelija reception centre with his Croatian and Slovenian counterparts.

On Sunday, some 250 refugees and migrants were hurt when they tried to cross into Macedonia to continue their journey to northern Europe, with Macedonian riot police firing tear gas and rubber bullets to push them back.

Macedonia accused Greek police of failing to intervene to prevent around 3,000 people trying to illegally enter its territory, but Athens said Skopje had used "excessive force".

It was the latest bout of unrest at Idomeni, where thousands of migrants fleeing war, persecution and poverty in the Middle East and Asia have found themselves stranded in squalid conditions after Macedonia and other Balkan states denied them passage to Germany and other destinations in northern Europe.
Source: AFP