Migrants Stranded in Greece Try to Break into Macedonia

Migrants tried on Thursday to break into Macedonia from Greece, defying the tougher border restrictions imposed by the Macedonian authorities last week, newswires reported.

About 200 migrants assaulted the barbed wire fence near the Greek border town of Idomeni and clashed with Macedonian police. Several of them ran across into Macedonia before police returned them to the Greek side of the border, AFP reported.

Macedonian riot police used batons to push back the migrants who had opened a gap in the wire fence.  

Up to 1,500 migrants, coming mainly from Algeria, Morocco, Iran and Pakistan, have been stranded near Idomeni since last week after Macedonia restricted passage in the wake of the deadly terror attacks in Paris. Only those fleeing armed conflict in Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq are allowed to cross as they are typically being granted asylum in the EU.

Some of the stranded migrants have pitched tents on the railway line that links the Greek sea port of Thessaloniki and the Macedonian capital Skopje, halting rail services on the route. Some have been protesting by refusing to eat, while others have sewn their mouths shut in protest.

Macedonia imposed the new restrictions after its neighbours Serbia and Croatia said that they would turn back migrants who weren't from Syria, Iraq, or Afghanistan and were trying to cross into their territory from Macedonia to travel on to the European Union.