Migrants clash with Macedonian police at Greek border

Hundreds of migrants have charged at Macedonian police lines in an attempt to enter the country through the Greek border.

Security forces beat back the migrants with truncheons and riot shields, and people fainted in the ensuing crushes. Several people were also injured when police fired tear gas and stun grenades in an attempt to disperse migrants who had been trapped in no-man’s land near the Greek village of Idomeni, many without food and water.

On Thursday, Macedonia declared a state of emergency to cope with an influx of migrants – many from the Middle East – who are trying to enter the country from Greece en route to northern EU states. Following the announcement, the Macedonian army closed the border and spread razor wire over rail tracks.

There were similar scenes in the border town of Gevgelija, where migrants have been gathering at the railway station every day in the hope of catching trains and heading north through Serbia and Hungary.

On Friday, the Macedonian interior ministry said it would allow a “limited number of illegal migrants in vulnerable categories” to enter the country and that these may be provided aid “in accordance with the state’s capacities”. Police have issued temporary transit documents to 181 migrants in the past 24 hours.

"We are allowing entry to a number that matches our capacity to transport them or to give them appropriate medical care and treatment,” government spokesperson Ivo Kotevski told Reuters.

The UNHCR has expressed concern for the "thousands of vulnerable refugees and migrants, especially women and children, now massed on the Greek side of the border amid deteriorating conditions".

Amnesty International deputy Europe director Gauri van Gulik said: "Macedonian authorities are responding as if they were dealing with rioters rather than refugees who have fled conflict and persecution."

Around 44,000 people have reportedly travelled through Macedonia in the past two months, meeting little border resistance. Greece has seen almost 160,000 people landing on its shores since January, according to UN estimates, with 50,000 arriving in the past month alone.