Migrants Stranded in Greece Try to Break into Macedonia

The source said the crossing from Greece to non-EU member Macedonia would remain open and that the fence was aimed at ensuring migrants did not try to slip across at other spots.

Nationals of other countries are being stopped, leading to a demonstration by about 200 people, mainly Iranians, Bangladeshis and Pakistanis, with some on hunger strike, Edwards said. Migrants stranded at the border have…

Along the way, the European Union border agency Frontex has recorded more than a million illegal border crossings by these migrants so far in 2015. Migrants stranded at the border have bee…

The latest on the mass movement of asylum-seekers and others seeking refuge in Europe.

Since last week, FYROM has restricted passage to northern Europe to only Syrians, Iraqis and Afghans who are considered war refugees.

All five were returned to the Greek side by Macedonian police.

Macedonia, along with Serbia and Croatia will only take refugees from Syria, Afghanistan, and Iraq, in an attempt to control the number of migrants coming into Europe.

A group of Iranians have been staging a hunger strike and have sewn their lips shut in protest at the policy. Police have advised all travelers to carry proof of their identity, including if they are moving around in border regions. About 5,000 migrants reaching Europe each day over the so-called Balkan migrant route. Through the end of October, some 47,000 people had applied for asylum this year.

In an interview published in Thursday’s edition of the Mlada Fronta daily, Zeman say that unlike the prime minister he considers the migrant wave “an organized invasion”.

“To classify a whole nation as economic migrants is not a principle recognized in worldwide law”, said Rados Djurovic, director of the Belgrade-based Asylum Protection Center, according to Reuters.

The protesters started to refuse blankets and food, and some of them said they’d rather be shot than go back to their countries.

There have been no migrant deaths reported in Greek-Turkish waters since November 17, “so we’re hoping this is showing a trend where things are starting to fall off with the winter”, IOM spokesman Joel Millman said.