Heavily armed Macedonian police deployed tear-gas launchers, rubber bullets and stun grenades at the border with Greece this morning as an organised migrant invasion attempted to force the fence.
Thousands of anonymous leaflets written in Arabic had been in circulation at the 11,000-man Idomeni migrant camp, calling on the inhabitants to rise up together this afternoon and to charge down the fence stopping them from moving north into continental Europe. A rumour had also been circulating that the border was to be opened by Macedonian authorities at 9am this morning.
Declaring “Today we either break the border fence or die”, large groups of up to 500 migrants moved to the fence, with reports by journalists on the ground showing tear gas grenades being dropped on the Greek side of the border by Macedonian forces, and patrolling armoured cars. Migrants hurled stones at police.
Teargas fired by Macedonian border police as refugees march on the border in #Idomeni pic.twitter.com/jW1ndy65vm
— Anna McKelvey (@japanna) April 10, 2016
Foreknowledge of the existence of the leaflets calling the migrants to action led to Greek and Macedonian police deploying in great numbers to protect border crossings today.
There have already been multiple casualties among the illegals attempting to storm the fence. Volunteer doctors are reported to be treating individuals with breathing problems after getting caught up in the defensive measures employed by the Macedonian police.
Flüchtlinge versuchen Grenzzaum zu stürmen #Idomeni pic.twitter.com/ke6O8RMptu
— Britta Jäger (@Britta_Jaeger) April 10, 2016
Greek police confirmed there have been “attempts to cross the border”, reports Kronen Zeitung.
While it is not known exactly who produced the detailed instruction leaflet handed to migrants — which featured a map of the border with military style instructions on where to strike and when — Greek media has named hard-left ‘No Border’ and Anarchist activist groups.
The disparate activist groups working in Greece to destroy Europe’s borders came under heavy criticism in March after another such mass march on the border intended to overwhelm Macedonian border forces. Instead of leading thousands of migrants to the European promised land, thousands found themselves in detention and three drowned as they attempted to cross a swollen river.
The groups have given much more support to illegal migrants than just advice. Breitbart London reported on gifts given to those attempting to gain access to Europe such as bolt cutters, allowing them to open holes in the wire border fence.
Macedonia, among other Balkan nations, closed their borders and effectively closed the most common route into Europe for hundreds of thousands of migrants, leaving great numbers of people building up in Greece, unable to proceed north. Unsupported by the European Union (EU) and in a state of major ongoing diplomatic discord with their southern Greek neighbours, the Macedonians have repeatedly expressed discomfort at Europe’s migrant policies.
Breitbart London reported the remarks of the Macedonian president last month when he said of the situation: “In the refugee crisis we have been paying for the mistakes of the EU, already we have spent 25 million euros of our own taxpayer’s money… and what did we get from Europe? Nothing… we’re not an EU country, not Schengen, not [a member of] NATO. Nobody wants us. Yet we protect Europe”.
He criticised the EU-Turkey deal, complaining that “non-Europeans” stood to benefit from billions of euros of cash, while the European people of Macedonia who work to “protect Europe” got nothing. President Ivanonv said: “If we had to rely on Brussels, which has failed to act, we would have long ago been been flooded with Jihadists”.
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