Macedonian police, migrants skirmish on Greek border
Officials use tear gas, stun grenades to disperse scores trying to enter
SKOPJE, Macedonia — Macedonian police used stun grenades and tear gas early Friday to disperse a large group of migrants trying to enter the country from Greece.
The U.N. refugee agency expressed deep concern about the clashes, which took place a day after the Macedonian government declared a temporary state of emergency at its southern border with Greece and at its northern frontier with Serbia. The move appeared to be an attempt to introduce greater control over the wave of migrants who travel through the country, hoping to reach richer countries in Western Europe.
“It is a fact that we are facing an increased pressure from the influx of migrants attempting to cross the border,” said Ivo Kotevski, a spokesman for the Ministry of Internal Affairs. “But so far we have the situation under control, and there haven’t been any major incidents or injuries.”
About 3,000 people are at the border with Greece, near the Macedonian city of Gevgelija, and the number is increasing as the tightened security reduces how many people get through.
“Within the last 24 hours, a total of 181 migrants have passed the border,” Kotevski said, “which is around 10 times less than in the previous day.”
Supported by armored vehicles, police fenced off the cross-border rail tracks along which migrants had been walking. The declaration of a temporary state of emergency allows the government to use soldiers to further bolster security on the border.
Although Macedonia is not in the European Union, many migrants hoping to reach Western Europe travel through the country after arriving in Greece, often by boat. Travel costs and train tickets are also relatively cheap in Macedonia, and other countries in the region have tightened their border controls recently.
Critics of the government’s move Thursday, technically called a state of crisis because it can last only 30 days, said that it would lead to migrants once again jeopardizing their lives by trying to cross the border illegally — walking along train tracks at night, for example, or falling victim to human trafficking.
“There was no need for declaring a state of crisis,” said Jasmin Redzepi of Legis, a nonprofit organization that provides support to migrants. “It appears to come as a result of the increased pressure from the local citizens, who protested against the migrants who occupied public spaces in the city, from one side and increased pressure from the Western European countries from another.”
About 42,000 migrants, mostly from Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria, have traveled through the country in the past two months, according to the Ministry of Internal Affairs.