Egyptian asylum seeker dies in Greek camp brawl

An Egyptian asylum seeker died Thursday after a brawl inside a migration camp on the Greek island of Chios, police said.

The 32-year-old man died in hospital, the victim of an apparent stabbing, a police source told AFP.

His alleged attacker, also Egyptian, was arrested. A third Egyptian man was also injured, apparently during the fight.

Police reinforcements were moved to the area to prevent a new flare-up of violence, the source said.

There are some 2,500 migrants on Chios who are blocked on the island after an EU-Turkey deal to limit the migration flow to the continent took effect on March 20.

In all, 8,500 migrants are held on Greece’s Aegean Sea islands under the deal which allows people not eligible for asylum to be sent back to Turkey.

Brawls are common in the island camps, with many desperate to avoid being returned to Turkey or their home countries, which they have spent a small fortune and risked their lives trying to escape from poverty and persecution.

A government source said the authorities would be more “vigorous” in their application of procedures to speed up the expulsion of troublemakers.

A group of 22 people implicated in camp incidents were recently earmarked for deportation.

Their nationalities were not disclosed.

[AFP]