Greek police raze migrant camp

Greek police raze migrant camp

2011-06-10 05:26:32 GMT+7 (ICT)

ATHENS (BNO NEWS) -- Police and coast guard officers on Thursday evacuated an estimated 100 undocumented immigrants from a makeshift camp in the coastal city of Igoumenitsa in northwestern Greece, the Kathimerini reported.

Officers razed around 250 huts and tents that had been set up around the port, while about 150 immigrants managed to flee into the nearby mountains.

Igoumenitsa Mayor Giorgos Katsinos said the cleanup of the camp was necessary since the mounting garbage produced by camp residents is a public health risk. He added that there have been frequent disputes between migrants and residents because of the negligence of camp members, which had resulted in fires breaking out on nearby forestland.

Meanwhile, residents staged a protest in the western port of Patra where hundreds of would-be migrants have been camping for years. Protesters fear a new influx of migrants after the police operation.

A total of 1,000 would-be migrants from African and Asian countries have been arrested in Igoumenitsa over the past two months in a series of police sweeps.

Greece is currently struggling to contain a wave of illegal immigration. Human rights organizations calculate that there are around 500,000 illegal immigrants currently living in the country, which has been repeatedly criticized for being one of the European Union countries that grants the smallest number of asylum pleas.

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