Dramatic scenes at Macedonian border: Army uses tear gas to disperse thousands of refugees

The Macedonian government declared a state of emergency yesterday on its southern and northern borders due to a large influx of migrants, after over 4,000 migrants blocked the Thessaloniki-Skopje railway line, reports the Patria News Agency.  

Riot police and the army in armored vehicles were deployed. Since the army's deployment, the influx of refugees into Gevgelija, which was up to 2,000 per day, suddenly stopped.

However, the situation appears to have escalated today. The BBC reports that the Macedonian army has begun using tear gas to disperse thousands of migrants attempting to enter the country from Greece.

Macedonian special police also fired stun grenades to disperse the gathered crowd. Refugees spent the night in the open and attempted to break through police and army lines several times. At least four people were injured in the scuffles, AP reports.

Police have erected barbed wire across the tracks that refugees use to walk from Greece to Macedonia. Nearly 160,000 refugees have arrived in Greece since January this year, with as many as 50,000 arriving last month.

The UN Refugee Agency has called on the government in Skopje to do more and provide adequate accommodation for the hundreds of refugees arriving daily.

The only reception center in Gevgelija, a town on the Macedonian-Greek border, is located next to the local police station and has a capacity of only 165 people, reports Index.