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Macedonian-Greek border situation gets tense, visit of presidents cancelled

Xinhua, April 14, 2016 Adjust font size:

The situation on the Macedonian southern border with Greece got tense on Wednesday when hundreds of migrants threw stones towards the Macedonian police guarding the border, Independent Macedonia news agency reported.

The migrants on the Greek side of the border tried to cut through the wire fence in order to cross into Macedonian territory, but were stopped by the Macedonian security forces and the Greek police which took measures for preventing the numerous attempts for knocking down the fence.

Due to the escalation of the situation in the border, the visit to the border of Macedonian President Gjorge Ivanov, along with Slovenian President Borut Pahor and Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic, was cancelled. The three presidents visited the Transit Center 'Vinojug' in Gevgelija, south Macedonia.

The police used tear gas bombs to disperse the migrants who tried to pierce through the fence again. According to the police, some suspicious NGOs provoked the migrants to head towards the fence on Wednesday using the visit of the presidents to that advantage.

Macedonian police used tear gas on Sunday to stop several hundred migrants from the border camp Idomeni in neighboring Greece to cross illegally onto Macedonian territory, 23 members of the Macedonian security forces were wounded, including one seriously. Endit