Galery

1

This morning the coast guard and police officers forced about 10,000 refugees and immigrants to leave the area outside the port of Mytilene on the island of Lesvos and to move to a region known as Fikiotripa near Tsamakia beach. It is located a few hundred metres away from the port and the authorities will try to count the refugees and immigrants there and register them.

The region, however, has no infrastructure to accommodate the refugees and immigrants, and to meet their basic needs.

Earlier there were clashes at the port as about 1,000 Afghans tried to board the ferry Blue Star 1, shouting "Athens, Athens". The coast guard officers stopped them by using stun grenades. The captain was forced to close the ship and many of the passengers, who were boarding it at this point, remained on the dock blocked among the Afghans.

Lesvos Mayor Spyros Galinos stated in the morning broadcast of ERT TV that the incident was explosive and repeated, "We are a step away from an explosion. The problem is explosive." He said the local government does not know the exact number of refugees and immigrants on the island.

"About 7-8 thousand are registered and ready to leave ... Ships are not enough," he stressed, calling for more ships to set off to the island as soon as possible. "I do not want just ships, I want a navy," said Galinos.

2,500 more immigrants in Piraeus

Meanwhile, the ferry Eleftherios Venizelos arrived at the port of Piraeus, bringing 2,504 immigrants from 4 Eastern Aegean islands.

491 people boarded the ferry at the port in Kos, 164 in Kalymnos, 1,102 from Leros and 747 from Mytilene. The Piraeus port police and coast guard took measures to ensure the safety of passengers disembarking the ship.