They were greeted with cries urging them to "return to Turkey". Fifty migrants were prevented from docking this Sunday on the Greek island of Lesbos, after several hours at sea by canoe, by residents furious at these arrivals made more numerous by the opening of Turkish borders.
At the port of Thermi, furious locals blocked the arrival of these boats, on which several minors were, shouting insults at the local representative of the High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR). Some locals also attacked the journalists and photographers present, hitting them and throwing cameras overboard.
A burned out reception center
On the road to the crowded Moria camp, where more than 19,000 migrants are staying, another group of residents with chains and stones tried to stop police buses carrying asylum seekers who arrived on Sunday. access the reception and registration center, according to the Greek press agency ANA. One police officer was slightly injured.
In the evening, residents also set fire to an unoccupied reception center for migrants near Skala Sykamineas beach after blocking it. However, this center had been closed since the end of January. He previously welcomed migrants before they were taken to a shelter on the island.
500 migrants arrived this Sunday
After Turkey's decision to open its borders to Europe, more migrants than usual arrived on Sunday on the Greek islands, thanks to good weather. At least 500 migrants docked Sunday morning on board a dozen boats.
Four boats with 120 people also docked on the island of Chios and two others with 80 migrants in Samos, according to the ANA. According to the Greek coast guard, some 180 migrants arrived on the islands of Lesbos and Samos on Saturday despite strong winds, crossing the maritime border between Turkey and Greece.
