Makfax, Macedonia: Migrants threw stones at police in Macedonia

Some Iranians have sewn their lips shut.

Tension has flared on the Greek side of the Greece-Macedonia border as a migrant suffered severe burns when he touched a high-voltage cable. Already annoyed at the fence being constructed by the Macedonian army in order to funnel the migrants to established checkpoints, the migrants began pelting stones at the officers.

The latest violence broke out after one migrant, believed to be a Moroccan, was electrocuted and badly burned when he climbed on top of a train wagon. One man on Saturday threw himself on railway lines before the police, screaming and flailing.

The police responded with tear gas and stun grenades, driving the crowd back.

Macedonia has started to erect a fence on its southern border with…

Human rights organizations have criticized the move, saying worldwide conventions require countries to treat asylum requests on merit, not on the basis of nationality.

The Macedonian Army hasn’t disclosed how long the metal fence will be.

Hundreds of thousands of migrants have arrived in Greece this year, many of them having crossed the Mediterranean from Turkey while fleeing conflict in the Middle East.

So far this year, an estimated 350,000 refugees and migrants have entered Europe.

The BBC’s Balkans correspondent Guy De Launey said the new fence, which does not cover the entire Greek border, is a way for Macedonia to direct migrants towards official crossings. Media reports and activists say that the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia is blocking people from Pakistan, Sudan, Sri Lanka, Morocco, Liberia and the Democratic Republic of Congo from entering via its land border with Greece, the country that is the main point of entry into Europe.

But Balkan countries, including Macedonia and Croatia, last week imposed new border restrictions, allowing passage only to people fleeing countries affected by war.