Back in November, Macedonia began restricting 'migrant' entry through its borders to just Syrians, Iraqis and Afghans. Reports from the Macedonian border on Monday, however, indicate that Macedonian police are now demanding "proper travel documents" from Afghan nationals. Nobody travelling on the Balkan route has proper travel documents. So, in effect, no Afghans are getting through.
This has left some 1,000 Afghans stranded, and Greek authorities have been busing them back to Athens.
Whether this move is temporary remains to be seen. This move is probably linked to Austria now allowing only some 3,000 "migrants" to travel through the country per day. Latest reports from Greece indicate that "migrant" arrivals on the Balkan Route have picked up to 4,000 per day, and those numbers are expected to be even higher as the water warms up in the Mediterranean. This move could be Macedonia's way of complying with Austria's new rules. After all, if Austria starts rejecting people at the Spielfeld crossing, those same people may end up being dumped on Macedonia, which is something the Macedonian authorities do not want at all.
There are now 10,000 "migrants" stranded in Greece. Please stay tuned, will continue to update.
No comments:
Post a Comment