More than 5,000 people were trapped at the Idomeni camp on Greece’s northern border with Macedonia on Saturday after four Balkan countries announced a daily cap on migrant arrivals.
More than 5,000 people were trapped at the Idomeni camp on Greece’s northern border with Macedonia on Saturday after four Balkan countries announced a daily cap on migrant arrivals.
The buildup began in earnest last week after Macedonia began refusing entry to Afghans and imposed stricter document controls on Syrians and Iraqis, slowing the passage of migrants and refugees to a trickle.
And the situation looked set to worsen significantly after Slovenia and Croatia, both EU members, and Serbia and Macedonia said they would restrict the number of daily arrivals to 580.
The tighter controls have left thousands — including many children — stranded in Greece, as the bloc’s worst migration crisis since World War II shows no sign of abating.
By Saturday, some 5,500 people were stranded at Idomeni, local police said, with another 800 gathered at another provisional camp some 20 km away.
Since Thursday night, only 150 people have crossed into Macedonia, officials said, putting the total number of refugees and migrants currently on Greek soil at around 25,000.
Tensions were running high along the border with some 400 people protesting by the Idomeni crossing early on Saturday, demanding that the Macedonian authorities let them in.
Friday’s announcement by four Balkan states came a week after Austria said it would only allow 80 people claim asylum per day, and also pledged to limit the daily number of people crossing the country to 3,200.
The move has sparked a bitter spat between Athens and Vienna, with Greece fearful it would trigger a domino effect, leaving thousands stranded on its territory. Austria has repeatedly accused Greece of failing to police its borders properly and allowing an excessively-high number of migrants to continue their journey northwards.
