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Refugees break into FYROM from Greece, as tension rises at border crossing

Xinhua, February 29, 2016 Adjust font size:

A small group of refugees broke into the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) on Monday, Greek national news agency AMNA reported, as tension has risen at the Idomeni border crossing with Greece over the past week due to the enhanced movement restrictions along the Balkan route to central Europe.

About 50 refugees who had been stranded to Greece for several days broke a small part of the fence separating the two neighbor countries, as hundreds were waiting to cross into FYROM.

Macedonian forces responded by firing tear gas, according to eyewitnesses, as refugees were pelting rocks. There were no injuries, according to Greek authorities.

More than 7,000 people have gathered near the border crossing in recent days, according to Greek police, as more than 20,000 refugees and migrants have been "trapped" in Greece due to the caps imposed on refugee crossings by Austria and other Balkan states.

Earlier on Monday FYROM authorities briefly opened the border crossing so that a few dozen refugees from Syria and Iraq entered the country. Endit