Macedonian border barrier

  Greece

The Macedonian border barrier is a border barrier built by Republic of Macedonia on its border with Greece as a response to the European migrant crisis. The construction of the barrier began in November 2015, modeled similarly to the Hungarian border barrier,[1] and it is 30km (19mi) long as of early 2016.[2]

History

Macedonia and its Balkan neighbours (Greece to its south in grey):
  Macedonia
  Kosovo
  Serbia

On 29 November 2015, Macedonian army began erecting fences on the Greek border.[3] A Moroccan man was injured in an accident that led to clashes between police and migrants that injured 18.[4] In the early stage of the construction of the barrier, Macedonian police were attacked by the migrants, according to The Guardian.[5] In February, Macedonian soldiers began erecting a second fence meters away from the previous one.[6]

After Austria started to limit asylum applications on its territory in February,[7] Slovenia, Serbia and other Balkan countries imposed restrictions on migrant entries.[8] As a result, Macedonia restricted migrant entries to its territory, which stranded thousands of migrants in Greece, especially near Idomeni border crossing.[8] On February 29, 2016, a group of hundreds of migrants attacked riot police with stones and attempted to break the border barrier using a battering ram made from vandalized street signs and a lamp post.[9][10]

Idomeni migrant camp

In February 2016, Austria initiated closure of the Balkan migrant route.[11] Subsequently, Slovenia barred migrants from transiting through its territory and Macedonia announced closure of its Greek border to migrants.[12] Albania deployed extra police to guard its borders and received assistance from Italy in form of "men and equipment" on both land and sea.[13] In March, Macedonia announced a plan to extend its 30km (19mi) barrier to 320km (200mi).[2]

In May 2016, Reuters reported that more than 10,000 migrants were settled on the border in what has become Europe's largest refugee camp with mosques, schools and businesses.[14]

See also

References

  1. ↑ John Hall. European refugee crisis: Macedonia builds 10ft-high razor-topped fence along Greek border. International Business Times. January 10, 2016.
  2. 1 2 John Stevens. Macedonia reveals plans to build 200 mile long fence on its border with Greece protected by guards armed with Tasers ahead of EU summit on how to deal with the migrant crisis. Published on March 6, 2016. Mail Online
  3. ↑ "Stranded migrants battle police on Greece-Macedonia border". BBC News. 28 November 2015. Retrieved 28 November 2015.
  4. ↑ "Migrants clash with Macedonian police on Greek border". AP News. 28 November 2015. Retrieved 28 November 2015.
  5. ↑ Migrants attack Macedonian police as construction of Greek border fence begins. theguardian.com. November 29, 2015.
  6. ↑ Euronews (7 February 2016). "More problems at FYROM-Greek border slows refugees' journey north".
  7. ↑ Migrant crisis: Austria asylum cap begins despite EU anger. BBC News. February 19
  8. 1 2 Migrant crisis: Macedonia border closure strands thousands in Greece. BBC News. Published on February 22, 2016.
  9. ↑ Holehouse, Matthew (29 February 2016). "Migrant crowd uses battering ram to break open Macedonia fences". The Telegraph.
  10. ↑ "Migrants use 'battering ram' on Greece-Macedonia border fence". BBC. 29 February 2016.
  11. ↑ Austria, Balkan nations, want full stop to migrant influx. Mail Online. Published on February 24, 2016.
  12. ↑ Migrant crisis: Macedonia shuts Balkans route. BBC News. Published on March 9, 2016.
  13. ↑ Refugees may start to cross over Albania. The Economist. Published on March 8, 2016.
  14. ↑ Lefteris Papadimas. Tired of waiting, Greece's migrants turn to business to survive. Reuters. Published on May 11, 2016.
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