Greece aims to deal swiftly with the migrant overflow at the Idomeni refugee camp on the Greek-Macedonian border where some 12,000 people are camping in miserable conditions waiting to cross.
“I hope the situation at Idomeni is resolved within a week without recourse to force,” Mega televisiSaturday quoted Dimitris Vitsas, the minister charged with coordinating the refugee flow, as saying.
Conditions in the camp have worsened since four Balkan countries shut their borders Tuesday and Wednesday, closing off the main route to wealthy northern Europe trodden by hundreds of thousands of migrants in the last two years.
Vitsas said Athens would try “to convince” refugees to accept a transfer to other reception centers across the country.
He added that 400 had done just that Friday, moving to centers in northern Greece.