Greek detention centre burns in riot between Afghans and Pakistanis

Greek detention centre burns in riot between Afghans and Pakistanis
By Robert Hackwill

More than 70 refugees have been injured and hundreds left without shelter after a huge fire and clashes broke out at a detention centre in Greece between Pakistani and Afghan…

More than 70 refugees have been injured and hundreds left without shelter after a huge fire and clashes broke out at a detention centre in Greece between Pakistani and Afghan migrants.

Conditions for migrants and asylum seekers in Greece have been criticised as “sub-standard” by the UNHCR, and are contributing to rising tension, but reports from this incident in Lesbos, following a similar one on Samos, suggest each party had specific grievances.

The Afghans were accused of acting like a “mafia” to try and control the centre, while the Afghans accused the Pakistanis of theft and sexual harassment.

The centre, formerly a refugee camp, is for migrants who have been refused entry to Europe and are awaiting passage back to Turkey as part of the EU deal struck with Ankara.

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