2000 refugees stuck on Macedonia border as more arrive

(AP Photo/Boris Grdanoski) Migrants arrive at the railway station in the southern Macedonia’s town of Gevgelija, after breaking through the police blockade on the border with Greece, on Saturday, August 22, 2015. Saying they would ration access, riot police used tear gas and stun grenades to drive back crowds, but were overwhelmed on Saturday by several thousand who tore through police lines or ran through nearby empty fields.

Many women and children were reported to have fainted to the ground after squeezing past the police cordon, and some of the migrants, including the elderly and children, were chased down by policemen and severely kicked or beaten with batons after fleeing across the border.

Medical teams were at the makeshift camp, mostly assisting the children, the dehydrated and the worn out after their journey to the border followed by a long wait at the barricade, A1 said.

Testimony from the 432 migrants on board suggest the vessel had been packed with more than 10 times the number of people it was designed for, with numerous passengers, including a number of women and children, locked below deck. Most want to make it through to more economically prosperous countries like Germany, the Netherlands and Sweden. At least eight people were injured, according to Greek police.

Confronted with a huge migrants wave, Macedonian authorities declared a “state of emergency” on Thursday on its southern and northern borderline, sending off both police and armed forces to control the increased migrant influx and transit. “They didn’t expect to be confronted with violence by armed police”, our correspondent said.

Italy’s Coast Guard said Saturday it was coordinating the rescue of up to 3,000 migrants from waters off Libya after receiving SOS calls from 18 different crowded vessels.

The Macedonian army has been mobilised to block thousands of asylum seekers and refugees who are trying to cross into the country from Greece.

Some 600 were allowed through overnight, packed onto a 5 a.m. train at the Gevgelija railway station and sent north to Serbia, the last stop en route to Hungary and Europe’s borderless Schengen zone. Migrants are fleeing United States-led wars in Afghanistan, Iraq or Syria, where the U.S.is attempting to overthrow the Assad government. “Until we receive another order, the situation here will remain like this”, said the officer, unnamed because he was not authorized to speak to reporters. A record 50,000 hit Greek land by boat from Turkey in July alone, bringing ripples of Middle Eastern conflicts to Europe’s shores.

As some started rushing the razor fence and opened up a section of it, Macedonian military fired two stun grenades.

The UN’s refugee agency, the UNHCR has urged Macedonia to “establish an orderly and protection-sensitive management of its borders”, simultaneously urging Greece to “enhance registration and reception arrangements” on its side of the border.