Greek police arrested nine migrants after clashes and a huge fire at an asylum seekers’ camp, as the United Nations warned Tuesday that 2016 could be the deadliest year yet for refugees trying to reach Europe.
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The Moria camp is a key hub for refugees on the island, housing around 5,600 migrants.
Thousands of people fled a migrant camp on the Greek island of Lesbos after fire swept through tents and cabins during violence among residents, police said.
However, once inside the firefighters were able to bring the fire under control. Those who are unsuccessful are deported back to Turkey.
The shipping ministry said it was looking to charter a ship to help cover “the immediate and urgent need to host, cater and perhaps transfer refugees-migrants”, after the fire and that interested parties should submit their bids by 1930 British time.
Tents at the camp of Moria were “almost entirely destroyed” and containers that provide additional accommodation and health and registration services were damaged, a police source in Athens told AFP. Many camps are too full and rioting and violent scuffles are a regular occurrence. “But the biggest number of the refugees are already on the streets, sleeping outside”, Vlashopoulos said.
Fighting erupted between some refugees during the rally and some set fire to the site, authorities said.
“On the islands of the northeast Aegean, official facilities have a capacity of 5,450 places, but more than 10,500 people are there”.
Earlier on Monday, tensions rose in Moria owing to a rumour that refugees were about to be deported en masse to Turkey, state agency ANA reported.
Regional governor Christiana Kalogirou said she had repeatedly warned the government that camps on the east Aegean Sea islands were dangerously overcrowded.
To date, authorities say just 502 people have been returned to Turkey while arrivals continue at a rate of around 100 per day.
The orange lifejackets spread out on the lawn of Parliament Square were worn by adults and children travelling from Turkey to Greece, part of a wave of migrants attempting the Mediterranean crossing to get to mainland Europe.
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More than 5,400 refugees and migrants are now located on Lesbos, which is the main destination for over a million people who have travelled to the eastern islands of Greece from Turkey since the start of 2015.
