One man died of electrocution while two others were injured on the Greece-Macedonia border as migrants and refugees clashed there on Thursday.
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The move has left hundreds of refugees stranded on the Greek side of the border, which has witnessed days of clashes between police and the asylum seekers demanding entry into Macedonia.
More than 650,000 refugees and migrants have reached Greece’s shores this year and Athens has been heavily criticized by some European partners and neighboring countries of failing to guard its borders and fully cooperating with EU agencies on tackling the crisis.
After the influx of refugees and migrants from the Middle East to the EU and the terrorist attacks in Paris last month, the European Union is debating limiting the free movement of people within its borders, not only across its external ones. Should Athens fail to do enough, passport controls could be reintroduced for Greek citizens traveling in Europe.
Greece additionally referred to as for the deployment of more Frontex officers on its northern border with the Republic of Macedonia, the agency stated in a press release.
Other EU states had been piling pressure on Greece to accept help for registering migrants trying to head north across the Balkans towards Germany and other wealthy states, and had wanted to see a deal by the time interior ministers meet in Brussels on Friday to review efforts to stem migration flows.
Greece has also requested immediate support from border guards.
Macedonia has been allowing only people from the three countries to cross. But Greece’s neighbors could reintroduce border controls for Greek people if the country were deemed to be “seriously neglecting its obligations”.
A 22-year-old Moroccan national was electrocuted at Idomeni on the Greece-Macedonia border on Thursday, local authorities said.
British authorities say a Palestinian man suspected to be the leader of an organized criminal gang that smuggled thousands of migrants into Europe faces extradition to Greece.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry made the announcement as he visited Athens on Friday.
Macedonian police have been using tear gas to push back Pakistani, Moroccan, and Iranian demonstrators, who have used tools to cut through Macedonia’s border fence.
Scuffles broke out between migrants and refugees on the border earlier Thursday, and a refugee camp set up in the area was looted of food and water during the melee.
Greece’s financially-strapped government says it has spent about 1 billion euros ($1.12 billion) addressing the migrant crisis and only received 30 million euros in European Union aid.
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After threatening Greece with triggering rules allowing for internal border controls within Schengen for up to two years, the ministers meeting in Brussels on Friday have not asked the bloc’s executive arm to activate the procedure.
