Over 3000 Migrants gather at Greek-Macedonian border

The refugees see both Macedonia and Serbia only as transit routes to Western Europe, which is why Macedonia earlier relaxed controls on migrants, allowing them 72 hours to cross the country unhindered.

Five refugees were taken to a hospital on the Greek side of the border with injuries caused by plastic bullets and tear gas, Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said.

Unable to cope with the surge of migrants attempting to enter the country from Greece, the Macedonian authorities have “declared at state of emergency”. “The illegal migrants were constantly allowed to cross over in Macedonia, and in some cases we were even witnesses that they were given organized transport to the border”, spokesperson Kotevski said. More than 39.000 migrants have been registered to cross last month, 31.000 being Syrians.

“The Commission is aware of the decision of the Macedonian government to declare a state of emergency in the regions near its southern and northern border”.

Police in riot gear fired the grenades after hundreds of migrants, included women and children, tried to cross newly-laid rolls of barbed wire along the frontier, an AFP photographer at the scene said.

Two Syrian refugees injured in clashes were hospitalised in Greece and are in stable condition, the state-run Athens News Agency reported.

Here is a gallery of images by Associated Press Photographer Darko Vojinovic showing the chaos at the border. The situation is escalating, with more people arriving at the border each day, she said.

The worldwide Organization for Migration said it was “deeply concerned” by the fate of those stuck in no-man’s land, calling for restraint and urgent humanitarian aid.

“Sadly, the south border was not protected at all from the Greek side”.

“They expect this number to go higher”, said Petros Mastakas. More than 2,500 academics and politicians also signed a petition of protest to President Milos Zeman who, after demonstrators rallied around the country chanting violent anti-immigrant slogans and displaying a mock gallows, rejected accepting more refugees.

Despite officials in the UK and other countries claiming that their tough approach to migrants is working, others have suggested that is not addressing the root of Europe’s migrant crisis and is merely shifting the problems elsewhere. Police responded with tear gas and stun grenades, driving them back. The migrants and refugees are believed to be from Northern Africa, Syria, and Afghanistan.

“Depending on how Greece uses ships to de-congest the islands, that will also temporarily increase the arrivals here”, said Alexandra Krause, senior protection officer at the UNHCR in Macedonian capital, Skopje. Sealing the border would disrupt the so-called Balkan corridor for refugees who begin their journey in Turkey and take boats to Greece. Hungary is building a 110-mile long fence along its border with Serbia to keep migrants and refugees from entering the nation.