Police, migrants clash on Macedonia border; soldiers build fence

Soldiers in Macedonia have begun erecting a metal fence on the country’s southern border with Greece.

The migrants, already angry about the fact that Macedonia has started to erect a fence on the border, started throwing stones at police officers who were cordoning off the official checkpoint.

Tears rolled down the cheek of one unidentified protester as another man sewed multiple stitches into his lips.

One Moroccan man denied entry into Macedonia was taken to hospital with severe burns on Saturday after climbing on top of a train carriage and touching a live wire. “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”.

So far, Syrians, Afghans and Iraqi nationals have crossed through Greece’s Idomeni border with Macedonia without significant delays, but other nationalities are being turned back.

The government said it was moving ahead with plans to build a fence but had no intention of closing the border completely.

A government spokesman said the fence would simply redirect people to official crossing points.

European Union member Hungary in September and October sealed its southern border to migrants, calling them a threat to the security, prosperity and “Christian values” of Europe. “The border will remain open”. The source said the decision came after they were informed by Croatia and Serbia that migrants who were not from war zones would be returned.

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.

Throughout 2015, close to 720,000 migrants – mainly from Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan – have arrived in Greece.