Video sheds light on fatal brawl at camp for migrants

A video seen by Kathimerini and a series of Facebook posts have shed light on a brawl at a migrant facility in Malakasa, eastern Attica, on Saturday that left a 31-year-old Syrian dead and eight of his compatriots injured.

The video was found on the cell phone of one of the facility’s residents during a police search following the brawl.

Twelve people have been detained in connection with the fracas while police are still seeking a 25-year-old Afghan man believed to have played an active role in the Syrian’s death.

Kathimerini has also seen judicial documents that describe the brutality of the weekend clashes between dozens of Afghan and Syrian refugees.

The same documents also describe an alleged attack by an ax-wielding assailant, said to be an 28-year-old Afghan, on a Syrian refugee.

Police investigators have scrutinized videos and photographs of Saturday’s brawl that were posted on Facebook by members of a group called Refugees of Greece believed to be residents of the Malakasa facility.

One of the images shows the 31-year-old’s body in a pool of blood. In another the dead man appears to have a cell phone shoved in his mouth.

The comments, most of which are in Arabic, refer to the 25-year-old fugitive as the person who killed the Syrian. Some connect him to the militant group Islamic State.

However, an investigation by members of the Greek Police’s counterterrorism unit has yet to link any of the camp’s residents to IS.