Lesvos migrants clash with police
Frustrated by poor living conditions at the overcrowded Moria reception center on the eastern Aegean island of Lesvos, migrants clashed with police Monday afternoon.
The unrest was sparked during a protest outside the so-called pre-departure center that operates within the Moria camp aimed at drawing attention to the substandard conditions that people are forced to endure while awaiting deportation to Turkey. According to reports, police guarding the center came under a hail of stones when they tried to secure the area and responded with tear gas.
The Athens-Macedonia News Agency said that two large tents and two prefabricated buildings were burnt, while migrants reportedly impeded fire fighters from entering the premises with stones. There were no immediate reports of any injuries.
Meanwhile, the European Commission yesterday approved the release of 6.48 million euros in funding for improving living conditions at refugee reception centers on Lesvos and the fellow eastern Aegean island of Chios.
According to an announcement by the EC, the funding is to go to the United Nations refugee agency, UNHCR, and is destined to be spent on food, water and plumbing, as well as improving education and medical services for refugees at the camps.
In total, Greece has received nearly 900 million euros in emergency EU funding for the refugee crisis since 2014.
