Greek police detained 40 illegal migrants for their involvement in the riots on the island of Lesvos on Monday, reports Lesbos post.
Monday morning, a march was held under the slogan “Freedom” with the participation of two thousand people from the center for the reception and identification of refugees and migrants “Moriah” to the city of Mitylini. The police used tear gas and light-noise grenades to stop the march. Thirteen people have been detained. There were also incidents involving migrants in the evening and 27 people were detained.
The situation in Lesbos remains tense, the newspaper writes. Migrants complain about the harsh conditions in the camp in Moria and demand to send them to the continental part of Greece.
The publication reported that there were several arson incidents in the evening and night – an evicted building in Moria was on fire, then unknown people set fire to the reeds near the village of Panayouda near Mitylini.
On Monday afternoon a “people’s assembly” of disgruntled Moriah residents was held, demanding security and the closure of the migrant camp.
Konstantinos Mutzuris, Governor of the North Aegean Sea Islands, called the situation explosive. At the meeting he urged everyone to remain calm and not to allow radical actions.
In the morning the inhabitants of Moriah plan to hold their march in Mitylini.
The Minister of Migration and Asylum Notis Mitarakis did not rule out that the riots in Lesbos were provoked, the authorities are investigating their causes.
“The primary responsibility of the state is the safety of its citizens. These unfortunate events confirm the need to accelerate asylum procedures, to return asylum seekers and to establish closed and supervised centres. It goes without saying that behaviour that violates the law does not comply with the asylum procedure”, – the minister said in a statement.