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Scuffles at Greek-Macedonian border, day after dozens injured

11 April 2016 22:22 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. Scuffles broke out between migrants and Greek police on Monday after dozens tried to push a train carriage along rail tracks leading to Macedonia, APA reports quoting Reuters.

The minor trouble came a day after dozens of migrants and refugees were injured in clashes with Macedonian police which the Greek prime minister deplored as "a disgrace for European civilization".

More than 10,000 migrants and refugees have been stranded at the Greek border outpost of Idomeni since February after a cascade of border shutdowns across the Balkans closed off their route to central and western Europe.

During Monday's scuffles, men stood on top the train carriage shouting and waving the Greek and German flags in protest. Others walked up to the border and waved olive branches at Macedonian soldiers who stood guard on the other side of the razor wire fence.

The tension was short lived and bore no resemblance to Sunday when dozens of migrants and refugees were wounded after Macedonian police fired tear gas and rubber bullets at crowds on the Greek side of the border.

Medical charity Medicins Sans Frontieres (MSF) said that of around 300 people it treated on Sunday more than 30, including children, had injuries caused by rubber bullets.

Macedonian authorities would only confirm they had used tear gas and accused Greek police of not intervening to stop the protesters.