Piraeus refugee ‘war zone’ overnight: 7 injured, 2 serious (photos-videos)

The port of Piraeus looked like a ‘war zone’ late Wednesday night when violent clashes broke out between Syrian and Afghani refugees and illegal immigrants. Over seven people were injured and have been transferred to hospital, two of whom are in serious condition. The clashes started at the E2 port gate and quickly spread to the E1 gate, as police forces were absent. According to some eyewitness accounts and port authority sources, the fights erupted when some Afghani illegal immigrants attacked a Syrian woman for unknown reasons. The initial skirmishes that ensued quickly escalated into full scale clashes between young Afghani and Syrian males, who were hurling rocks at each other and using any object they could get their hands on to beat the other side. Amid the chaos, women and children were screaming and trying to flee the terrifying scene of violence. The nearly 30 police and port officers present at the moment were completely overwhelmed by the numbers of the participants and the quick escalation of the clashes. the battles raged for about three hours until more police forces came in and the situation was defused. Authorities are planning to separate the two ethnic communities to avoid future clashes until all are processed to more permanent reception centers inland. High ranking port and police officials told Protothema.gr that if the port is not immediately ‘cleaned up’ this could lead to fatalities, as tensions are extremely high in the port area. ‘This is unprecedented in Piraeus. The port was operating smoothly with the people coming in and leaving straight away. Suddenly it became a reception center without any planning of infrastructures. There are 5,000 people trapped here and no one is controlling them’, said a source from the Piraeus port.