Stranded Migrants Set up Barrier at Greece’s Border with Macedonia

Southeast Europe | December 3, 2015, Thursday // 15:58|  views

Migrants are seen near the town of Idomeni, on Greece’s border with Macedonia, 2 December 2015. Photo EPA/BGNES

A migrant has been fatally electrocuted at the border between Greece and Macedonia where Greek police and stranded migrants clashed on Thursday.

The man, believed to be from Morocco, died on Thursday after climbing onto a railway carriage standing near the border and touching a high-voltage overhead cable, AFP reported, citing a Greek police spokesman.

Greek police then used tear gas to disperse a group of Moroccan men who picked up the dead man's body and advanced on the border crossing, shouting "Allahu akbar" ("God is greatest").

Some 1,500 people, mostly from Pakistan, Iran and Morocco, have been stranded near the Greek border town of Idomeni for more than a week, demanding to cross into Macedonia en route to northern Europe.

Macedonia has been allowing only people arriving from war zones such as Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq to cross at its Gevgelija checkpoint opposite Idomeni as those migrants are typically granted asylum in the EU. The Macedonian authorities consider people from other nationalities to be economic migrants and deny passage to them.

The division sparked clashes on Thursday with migrants from Pakistan, Iran and other countries banned from crossing into Macedonia from Greece setting up roadblocks near the border.

They used empty barrels, pieces of wood and metal to make a barrier on the Greek side of the border, preventing all people from Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq from entering the area, according to AP.

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Tags: macedonia, greece, migrants, refugees, border, Idomeni, Gevgelija,  

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