A migrant (R) reacts as he walks next to the remains of burned tents at the Moria migrant camp, after a fire that ripped through tents and destroyed containers during violence among residents, on the island of Lesbos, Greece, September 20, 2016.
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Greek police say a large fire has swept through a big camp for refugees and other.
Different parts of the camp were set on fire that later grew out of control as a rumor spread that several migrants would return to Turkey in the coming days.
Some are reporting that it was caused by riots in the camps but police have not confirmed this. No injuries were reported at the camp, about 8 kilometers (5 miles) north of the island’s main town.
Aid organizations laid out 2,500 lifejackets symbolizing refugee crossings to Europe in a demonstration outside the British parliament on Monday timed to coincide with a United Nations summit on the worldwide migrant crisis.
More than 60,000 refugees are now in Greece, majority seeking to reach Germany and other wealthy European countries.
Elizabeth Dimitras, 30, a former volunteer at the facility who is in contact with current staff on the Aegean island confirmed to Anadolu Agency that most of the Moria camp was on fire and had also experienced clashes between refugees and migrants.
More than 5,700 refugees and migrants are on Lesbos, stranded there by a European Union deal with Turkey preventing them going beyond the island until their asylum claims are processed.
Government data cited by AFP says that five Greek islands are housing some 13,000 refugees, while originally they were created to accommodate less than 8,000. No-one is said to have been hurt in the blaze.
“Moria serves as a stark reminder to world leaders meeting in New York City today to discuss the global refugee crisis of the flawed and deeply questionable policies put in place by the EU-Turkey deal, and the responsibility that Greece continues to shoulder for the broader refugee crisis in Europe”.
A lot of them are Syrian refugees fleeing civil war, in addition to Iraqis, Afghans, and Pakistanis fleeing violence and persecution at home, who, along with others from the Indian subcontinent and north Africa, are not automatically entitled to asylum in Europe.
Migrants watch a large fire as it burns inside the Moria refugee camp on the northeastern Greek island of Lesbos, late Monday, Sept. 19. “If we, the worldwide community, fail in supporting this effort not only the social, but also the political repercussions will be felt, not only in Greece but anywhere”.
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More than 850,000 refugees and migrants arrived on the Greek islands a year ago, many after risking their lives in unseaworthy boats and dinghies.
