Clashes at new Macedonia migrant fence

Four Balkan governments, led by Slovenia, enacted measures on November 17 blocking access for refugees and migrants that could not prove citizenship from Syria, Afghanistan or Iraq, on the grounds that any migrants from outside these countries are ‘economically motivated’.

The extent of the barrier was not yet known, but the photographer said that the Macedonian military was using heavy machinery to build a 2.5-metre-high (8-foot) fence near the crossing point used by migrants at Gevgelija.

(AP Photo/Giannis Papanikos). Iranian migrants raise a banner as they protest in no man’s land, demanding to be allowed to pass the Greek-Macedonian border, near the northern Greek village of Idomeni, on Friday, Nov. 27, 2015.

“We are not closing the border completely”, the official said, describing it as an attempt to funnel the flow.

Some threw stones at police while others fell to their knees shouting, “We want to go to Germany!” “Profiling asylum seekers on the basis of their alleged nationality infringes the human right of all people to seek asylum, irrespective of their nationality and to have their individual cases heard”.

As the army began erecting the metal fence, minor clashes broke out, with migrants throwing rocks at Macedonian police, who responded with tear gas.

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

Others lay on train tracks to block trains bound for Greece, and a report said one person attempted suicide before Macedonian police intervened.

European Union member Hungary in September and October sealed its own southern border to migrants, calling them a threat to the security, prosperity and “Christian values” of Europe.

The number of migrants making the journey to Europe rose dramatically this year compared to 2014, although the influx shows signs of decreasing as winter approaches.

Germany expects roughly 1 million refugees and migrants to arrive this year alone.