More than 7000 migrants stuck on Greek-Macedonian border

The United Nations Secretary-General, Mr Ban Ki Moon, has advised European countries against increasing borders in Balkan and Austria to migrants and refugees moving toward Europe. Police should not use force unless strictly necessary, and should exercise restraint if the lawful use of force is unavoidable, Human Rights Watch said.

Over 7,000 people – many of them stranded in near the Idomeni border crossing for days – spent a freezing night and awoke under wet canvas among sodden wheat fields.

European Union members Slovenia and Croatia, along with Serbia and Macedonia, swiftly responded to the clampdown further up the migrant route by imposing a limit of 580 migrants entering per day.

Macedonia has introduced restrictions by nationality and number of people allowed along the so-called Balkan route, as the countries further north along the route introduced similar restrictions.

And more than 2,400 kilometers (1,500 miles) away in Calais, in northwest France, clashes erupted as authorities moved to dismantle structures at the “Jungle”, an infamous migrant camp marked for partial demolition. On February 19, they imposed additional restrictions by banning people from Afghanistan from entering their territories. Only some Iraqis and Syrians have been allowed to cross.

Refugees and migrants stand near their tents near the Greek-Macedonian border, in the northern Greek village of Idomeni, on Monday, Feb. 29, 2016.

There were an estimated 22,000 refugees trapped in Greece on Monday, some sleeping rough in central Athens, some in an abandoned airport and at the 2004 Olympic Games venues.

Gerovassili said the Greek army was helping feed some 10,000 people.

The dramatic increase in arrivals in 2015 exacerbated chronic deficiencies in Greece’s asylum system where, despite reforms, people face severe obstacles to applying for asylum, inadequate reception conditions for asylum seekers, and hurdles to integration. “It rained throughout the night and a lot of tents aren’t waterproof but the situation this morning is calm”, said Caroline Haga, a delegate with the International Federation of Red Cross, at the scene. He warns uncontrolled migrant flows present a security risk. But to get from Greece to Germany, they have to pass through three or four other countries. In 2011, European judges criticised Greece for failing to register asylum applications at the border. More recently, the European Commission criticised Greece for not being able to control its border and letting people hike up north. In 2011, Italy issued thousands of temporary residency permits, which allow immigrants to travel around Europe, to Tunisians who had arrived on its shores.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said the build-up of migrants at the Greek-Macedonian border is not comparable to the situation last September, when she agreed to let in thousands of people who had piled up in Hungary.

The instrument will only need the approval of the bloc’s member states, as it is based on a provision in the EU treaties that doesn’t require the involvement of the European Parliament. Men, women and children were being housed in army barracks, sports arenas, parks and public buildings.