Stranded migrants beaten by cops on Greek island

Overwhelmed police clerks used fire extinguishers and batons on Tuesday to quell the crowds of tired and frustrated boat people fiercely jostling to be registered in Kos’ main port, where thousands have been sleeping rough for days waiting for temporary travel documents.

The scuffles between the police and migrants took place a day after a Greek police officer on the island was suspended for brandishing a knife and slapping a man identified by Greek media as a Pakistani migrant. Just in July, there were 50,000 arrivals, about 70 percent from Syria.

Fights have broken out among migrants on the Greek island of Kos, where authorities are struggling to contain increasing numbers of people fleeing the conflict in Syria.

Many complained that the authorities had been unable to provide them with essentials, including water, shelter, food and sanitation.

Greece’s coast guard said they had rescued 329 migrants in seven separate search and rescue incidents in the 24 hours from August 10 off the coast of Lesbos and Kos.

Tension has often escalated on several of the islands, with fights breaking out among groups of migrants, or between migrants demanding faster processing and coast guard or police officers.

As the overcrowded boat approached the beach, tourists were bathing and tanning.

A Syrian woman appealed, “I don’t have money, please, help me”.

Mukhtar, a Somali migrant who arrived further north, on the island of Lesbos, said he was trying to get to Norway where his family lives. “We want to eat!”

Greece and its worldwide lenders reached a multi-billion euro bailout agreement on Tuesday after talking through the night, officials said, after months of acrimonious negotiations. But there is nowhere the migrants can go while they wait for their papers, other than the sunbaked stadium.

The UN refugee agencys European division reported that over 124,000 refugees and migrants have come to Greece since the beginning of the year – a 750 percent increase compared to the same period last year.