Greek police step up patrols, security near Idomeni camp

Greek police this week stepped up patrols and checks in and around the makeshift Idomeni refugee camp on the border with the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (fYRoM) after repeated attempts by groups of third country nationals to rush into the neighboring country were violently repelled by fYRoM police.

Authorities were checking the particulars of occupants of vehicles headed to the specific border post, in a bid to prevent the incitement of refugees, as they claimed. Various pamphlets, written in Arabic, have appeared in the camp over the past month inciting refugees to break through border fences or try “alternate routes” for entry into fYRoM. Greek officials have also warned of individuals spreading disinformation amongst the mostly Mideast refugees.

Press reports have alternately identified such individuals as belonging to obscure NGOs, “activists” from western Europe or even self-styled anarchists from nearby Thessaloniki and abroad.