Syrian man dies in brawl at migrant camp

At least five migrants drowned after the boat they were traveling in capsized off Alexandroupoli in northern Greece yesterday, a day after a 31-year-old Syrian asylum seeker was killed in a brawl between different ethnic groups at a migrant processing center north of Athens.

It was not immediately clear how many people were aboard the rubber dinghy that overturned as parts of the country were hit by hurricaneforce winds.

On Saturday, a 31-year-old Syrian national died of head injuries sustained during a fight between Syrian and Afghan residents at the Malakasa hotspot, police sources said. Seven others were injured in the incident. Reports said an argument that started between the two groups on Friday turned violent on Saturday.

Meanwhile, the pressure of migration from Turkey to Greece is intensifying. Kathimerini visited the hotspot on Samos, in the eastern Aegean, where about 3,500 migrants are being hosted – many in summer tents outside the facility – while the center’s capacity is 600. Hotspot director Dimitra Nioutsikou told the newspaper that although more than 800 people had received permission to move to the Greek mainland, they chose to remain on Samos. “If they go to Athens, they have no place to stay,” she said.

A total of 4,314 people reached Samos between January 1 and September 21.