Greek minister urges migrants to leave Greece's northern border
- Written by E.Tsiliopoulos
Greece on Friday urged hundreds of migrants and refugees who have gathered in a field close to the country's northern border to return to their housing settlements, otherwise they could face sanctions.
Small groups of people including children arrived at a field next to the migrant camp of Diavata near the border with North Macedonia on Thursday.
By Friday morning there were more than 100 tents pitched in the field, prompted by reports on social media of plans for an organised movement to cross Greece's northwest land border with Albania in early April.
"I am appealing to those people right now...to return to the accommodation centres," Greek Migration Minister Dimitris Vitsas told Greek state television ERT.
"It's a lie that the borders will open," he said. "In international treaties, there are obligations but there are also sanctions".
Police parked buses across a road in the area to block an access route.
Tens of thousands of refugees and migrants, mainly from Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan, are stuck in Greece from when Balkan countries shut their borders in 2016. That route was the main passage way to northern Europe.
Vitsas said he hoped those in the field would leave by night.
