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A man of Albanian origin, aged 36, died in George Genimatas hospital today, after he was fatally shot in the capital district Saint Panteleimon. Residents and passers-by had heard the shots at the intersection of Sepolia and Pisistratou streets early in the morning. Police are currently investigating the case. One version is that it was about settling accounts but the possibility of a racist crime is not excluded either.

Saint Panteleimon neighbourhood in Athens has become known for the severe clashes on ethnic grounds in recent years. A large number of foreigners, many of whom are illegal immigrants, live there. The rise in crime since 2008 and a series of attacks carried out by foreigners has caused the development of xenophobia. Saint Panteleimon became one of the municipalities in Greece, where the extreme nationalist Golden Dawn won the highest number of votes in parliamentary elections this year.

Meanwhile, the action to capture illegal immigrants "Xenius Zeus" continues today, provoking civil conflicts in the region of Corinth, northeast of the Peloponnese. Policemen fought with representatives of Golden Dawn and citizens of the area who oppose the establishment of a temporary detention camp for illegal immigrants in the suburbs.

The operation "Xnius Zeus" began in the Peloponnesian province in the early hours on Thursday. By noon, police had identified around 450 foreigners without residence permits in the country. They were taken to the building of the old training centre for recruits in the outskirts of the city, which is now a detention camp for illegal immigrants. Once half of the immigrants were housed in the camp, a group of about 200 people occupied the armoured police buses with the rest of the illegal foreigners. They blocked the entrance to the centre, surrounded the building and the police had to disperse them using force and tear gas.

Local authorities support the civil unrest and do not approve the establishment of a detention centre for illegal immigrants near Corinth. "The state cannot take such actions without taking into consideration the opinion of the municipality," deputy mayor of Corinth Haralabos Kabouris expressed his displeasure, quoted by Vima. Golden Dawn stated they were scandalized by the police actions and strongly opposed the gathering of foreigners in the old building of the training centre for recruits. The communication of the extreme nationalists states, "Making the old military base a tourist centre for illegal immigrants without taking into account the opinion of the Mayor's office is a pure crime."

So far, the "Xenius Zeus" purge in Athens has found nearly two thousand illegal immigrants without proper documentation and certificates for a stay in the country. According to police, this represents 20 per cent of the total number of immigrants checked to date.

The upsurge in attacks on foreigners requires the establishment of a new service to the authorities, which will investigate racist crimes, Minister of Civil Protection Nikos Dendias announced. He said the political will of the government was to eradicate the tensions of ethnic basis and therefore, the new service is soon expected to start operating. In the context of the government proposal, Golden Dawn’s spokesman Elias Kasidiaris said that Greece has become the dunghill of Europe. He believes that immigration pollutes his country and defines the term "racist crime" as unrealistic.