Migrants in northern Greece disperse after failed attempt to cross to North Macedonia


 Macedonia: On Friday there were clashes with Greek police and tear gas was fired as convoys of people walked towards the border


BREAKING NEWS

Al-Sahawat Times

This story is currently developing. Further updates will follow

To be notified of developments as they break


Al-Sahawat Times | Ethical Global News from Oman and UAE | Donate HERE


Advertisement – Advertise here from OMR 100 / $275 USD


Migrants started to pack their belongings and move on from a field in northern Greece after a failed attempt to enter Macedonia.

Just a few tents remained on the makeshift site in Diavata as people boarded buses to return to organised camps.

The migrants had turned up in the area last Thursday after rumours on social media that onward travel restrictions had been lifted and planed for a mass crossing.

Those reports, of course, turned out to be false and the migrants came up against Greek riot police.

On Friday there were clashes and tear gas was fired as convoys of people walked towards the border.

Tens of thousands of refugees and migrants, mainly from Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan, remain stranded in Greece after Balkan countries shut their borders in 2016. That route was the main passageway to the EU. Although Greece is an EU member it is surrounded by non EU nations in the form of the Balkan States and Turkey. Many refugees and migrants have to leave Greece who’s economy is still struggling to recover form the 2008 global economic crash and attempt to cross the war torn Balkan States to reach “EU proper” to seek refuge, asylum and a better life.

Turkey and the Balkan States who have border disputes with Greece fell out with the EU over the refugee crisis and as a result shut their borders to Greece in 2016. Macedonia in particular is not open to aiding Greece in this matter. Southern Macedonia which is under Greek control has been a source of contention between the two countries ever since North Macedonia gained independence from Yugoslavia in the 1990s and sought to unify with South Macedonia, which Greece refused to relinquish.


Since you’re here …

… we have a small favour to ask. More people are reading Al-Sahawat Times than ever but advertising revenues across the global media industry are falling fast. And unlike many news organisations, we haven’t put up a total paywall. We want to keep our journalism as open as we can. So you can see why we need to ask for your help. Al-Sahawat Times’ independent, investigative journalism takes a lot of time, money and hard work to produce. But we do it because we believe truly ethical media and an unbias perspective really matters.

“I appreciate there not being a paywall: it is more democratic for the media to be available for all and not a commodity to be purchased by a few. I’m happy to make a contribution so others with less means still have access to information.”

If everyone who reads our reporting, who likes it, helps fund it, the future of ethical media and the futures of our staff and their families would be much more secure. For as little as £1, you can support Al-Sahawat Times and it only takes a minute. Thank you.

 


This story is available on:

APPLE NEWS | GOOGLE NEWS | AL-SAHAWAT TIMES


Talk to a journalist

Email: NewsDesk@alsahawat.com

Web: alsahawat.com

Follow Al-Sahawat Times

Visit Us On FacebookVisit Us On TwitterVisit Us On LinkedinVisit Us On YoutubeVisit Us On Instagram
Read it on Apple News

?Read it on FLIPBOARD


 

Views: 0

About the Author

Michael Al-Said
News correspondent for Al-Sahawat Times since 2012