Athens asks EU to help decongest Greek islands as clashes break out at Lesvos hot spot

The Greek government reiterated a call to the EU to quickly help relocate thousands of refugees and migrants currently living in overcrowded reception centers on the Aegean Sea islands, as new clashes among refugees broke out on early Monday inside Moria hot spot on Lesvos island.

"Greece has shouldered its share of responsibility concerning the handling of the refugee crisis. The European Union and its leaders should bear their share," the Greek Migration Ministry said in a press release.

The words came in response to German Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere's suggestion that Greece failed to do its job on EU borders and therefore should take back refugees from Germany.

The German official made the comment when speaking to Welt am Sonntag newspaper. Germany has not sent migrants back to Greece in the past five years. Under the Dublin regulations, migrants and refugees should be processed in the first member state they entered, which for the overwhelming majority today is Greece.

More than one million people have crossed into Europe from the Turkish shores via Greece since early 2015.

According to the latest official figure released by the Greek Refugee Crisis Management Coordination Body, some 59,500 people are currently stranded across Greece after the closure of the Balkan route to central Europe.

Under the agreement sealed a year ago between EU members, about 33,000 refugees should be relocated across Europe under the relocation program this year. So far only 3,000 refugees have been relocated, the Greek ministry stressed.

Regarding criticism that the procedures are delayed due to deficiencies in the Greek asylum processing system, Athens replied that its European partners have also failed to fully keep their promises concerning the European experts that would be sent to the islands to assist the Greek authorities.

As Greek and European officials argued on the issue, five minors were hospitalized at Lesvos after scuffles broke out between young refugees from Syria and Afghanistan, according to the police.

Some 40 underage refugees are believed to have fled the Moria center during the clashes, Greek national news agency AMNA reported, citing police sources.

Monday's incident ended with the intervention of police, but tensions between different ethnic groups remain.

Following a dozen such clashes at accommodation centers in recent months, Greek officials have pledged to accelerate the efforts to decongest the camps.

According to the official figures, 5,400 refugees and migrants are hosted on Lesvos island, while the capacity of the operating facilities reaches 3,500.

Meanwhile, more arrivals are recorded each day from Turkey, as Ankara warns that March's agreement with EU to curb the migrant and refugee influx will collapse unless the EU immediately grants visa-free travel for Turkish nationals into Europe.

Deputy Migration Minister Yannis Mouzalas repeated during an interview with Greek Real News daily on Sunday the government's pledge to transfer thousands of refugees to the mainland this autumn to relieve congestion on the islands.

The relocation concerns people who have already been processed and will not be returned to Turkey, as well as migrants who are to be deported and will be detained in closed centers.

However, the idea has not received a warm welcome by all. In a letter addressed to Mouzalas, the Greek Tourism Confederation (SETE) called on the government to reconsider the plan to establish new centers at major tourist destinations, such as Crete island, to "not harm the tourism industry." The SETE proposed the creation of such facilities in sparsely populated regions.

Source : XINHUA