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Thousands of Migrants Rush Past Police Into Macedonia

Thousands of Migrants Rush Past Police Into Macedonia
Thousands of Migrants Rush Past Police Into Macedonia

Thousands of rain-soaked migrants on Saturday rushed past Macedonian riot police who were attempting to block them from entering Macedonia from Greece. Police fired stun grenades and dozens of people were injured in the border clashes.

By the end of the day, everyone got across, including several hundred migrants, mostly elderly and children, who had remained on the Greek side of the border, AP reported.

Thousands then boarded trains and buses that took them up north to the border with Serbia from where they will attempt to enter EU member Hungary.

The tumult started when police allowed a small group of migrants with young children to cross the frontier and crowds in the back squeezed the migrants toward the shielded police wall. Many women, at least one pregnant, and children fell to the ground, apparently fainting after squeezing past the cordon.

Then thousands of others, including women with babies and men carrying small children, grabbed their chance to climb over razor wire or run across a field not protected by the fence to enter Macedonia.

Police stun grenades did not to stop the rush, but many fleeing migrants were chased down by policemen and severely kicked or beaten with batons.

 2,000 Rescued Off Libya

More than 2,000 migrants and refugees were rescued from boats off the coast of Libya in one of the biggest single-day operations mounted, Italy’s coastguards said, as distress calls came from more than 20 vessels.

Two Italian navy ships were involved in Saturday’s rescue effort. Responding to two wooden boats in danger of sinking, the Cigala Fulgosi picked up 507 people and the Vega 432, the navy said.

Various other Italian vessels were involved in the rescue effort, as well as the Norwegian military ship Siem Pilot, which has been deployed as part of the EU’s Triton patrol mission.

A boat belonging to humanitarian group Doctors without Borders rescued 311 people, including a newborn baby.

 

Financialtribune.com