Lesbos, Greece Police on the Greek island of Lesbos fired teargas at a group of migrants on Saturday protesting against a new camp being set up to replace one destroyed this week by fire, according to local media.
Migrants had been protesting along the main road connecting the island town of Mytilene and the location of the new camp, which is due to be set up by the authorities after the Moria camp was razed earlier this week.
A journalist on the ground said the migrants were frustrated with being in refugee camps and want to leave the island, but the Greek government said on Friday they would “not be blackmailed” into relocating them.
Greek authorities said the fires at Moria appeared to have been deliberately lit after quarantine rules were imposed on residents who had tested positive for coronavirus at Europe’s largest refugee camp.
One protester had been affected by the teargas and was shouting angrily about her treatment in the camp.
Photos: Europe’s largest migrant camp was destroyed. Now thousands are homeless
An Afghan child rests after fires broke out in the Moria migrant camp on Tuesday, September 9.
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Photos: Europe’s largest migrant camp was destroyed. Now thousands are homeless
Fires rage in the Moria camp on September 9. Greek authorities said the fires appeared to have been deliberately lit after quarantine rules were imposed on residents who had tested positive for coronavirus. The camp was put under lockdown after 35 people tested positive for Covid-19.
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Photos: Europe’s largest migrant camp was destroyed. Now thousands are homeless
An Afghan family wakes up Friday, September 11, in the aftermath of the Moria fires.
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Photos: Europe’s largest migrant camp was destroyed. Now thousands are homeless
This poem was written by a displaced Afghan migrant after the fires.
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Photos: Europe’s largest migrant camp was destroyed. Now thousands are homeless
This Afghan migrant family was among those left homeless by the Moria fires.
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Photos: Europe’s largest migrant camp was destroyed. Now thousands are homeless
An Afghan migrant starts a fire for his family’s morning tea on September 11.
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Photos: Europe’s largest migrant camp was destroyed. Now thousands are homeless
An Afghan boy expresses his thanks before eating breakfast, which included pita, honey and tahini spread, at his family’s tent on September 11.
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Photos: Europe’s largest migrant camp was destroyed. Now thousands are homeless
Greek police keep tabs on migrant protests on September 11.
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Photos: Europe’s largest migrant camp was destroyed. Now thousands are homeless
A displaced Syrian migrant cleans up around her new tent, located on the roof of an industrial site. The supermarket in the background is where many Greeks and migrants have shopped, photographer Byron Smith said.
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Photos: Europe’s largest migrant camp was destroyed. Now thousands are homeless
Displaced migrants protest on September 11.
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Photos: Europe’s largest migrant camp was destroyed. Now thousands are homeless
People walk through the remains of the burned-out Moria camp.
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Photos: Europe’s largest migrant camp was destroyed. Now thousands are homeless
Migrant children play at their new tent on September 11.
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Photos: Europe’s largest migrant camp was destroyed. Now thousands are homeless
A boy fetches water for his family.
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Photos: Europe’s largest migrant camp was destroyed. Now thousands are homeless
An Afghan migrant combs his daughter’s hair on September 11.
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Photos: Europe’s largest migrant camp was destroyed. Now thousands are homeless
The sun rises over the burned-out camp on September 11.
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The migrants were chanting “Freedom!” and holding placards that read “no tent, no Lesbos, no Greece,” “we need peace and freedom” and “Moria Kills All Lives.”
Tensions come after four days since fires tore through Moria, Europe’s largest refugee camp, displacing 13,000 people including thousands of children.
CNN has contacted local police for details about Saturday’s clashes but has yet to receive a response.
Refugees from the camp have been left homeless and hungry after the fires, with some sleeping at roadsides and gas stations while dozens of families took refuge in a nearby cemetery.
Director of the Greek Migration Minister’s office, Konstantinos Kostakos, said authorities would temporarily relocate about 1,000 migrants — particularly those in vulnerable groups — onto a ship that has docked at Sigri, on the western side of the island.
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