Greek islands turmoil: Police on Kos use batons to disperse migrants as chaos boils over

http://www.express.co.uk/news/world/597530/Greek-migrant-crisis-refugees-boats-asylum-seekers-Mediterranean

FIGHTS broke out between police and migrants today on the Greek island of Kos - where overwhelmed authorities are struggling to deal with the growing number of refugees arriving on their shores.

By Rebecca Perring

PUBLISHED: 10:05, Tue, Aug 11, 2015 | UPDATED: 14:05, Tue, Aug 11, 2015

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AP

Police disperse protesting migrants on holiday island of Kos

Police used fire extinguishers and truncheons to disperse the stampede of protesting asylum seekers staging a sit-in and demanding quick registration on to the  popular holiday island.

"We want papers, we want to eat," they chanted.

But hundreds fled in panic as police used force to maintain control as fights broke out where 1,500 people gathered in a long and crowded queue at the registration stadium in Kos.

It comes as island officials took matters into their own hands by deploying special boats to remove migrants, blaming their own Government for its "criminal neglect" in dealing with the crisis.

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AFP

Migrants wait for a registration procedure at the stadium on the Greek island of Kos

AFP

A policeman tries to disperse hundreds of migrants by spraying them with a fire extinguisher

Their move comes after reports holiday hotspots Kos, Lesbos, Chios and Leros were in "complete chaos" as tens of thousands of asylum seekers were left living in "shameful" accommodation - without water, electricity or sanitation.

George Hadzimarkos, prefect for the southern Aegean and responsible for more than 60 of Greece's idyllic islands, said: "No island can cope with the inflows we are seeing here daily.

"[The] central government isn't doing anything. And it's not because of the lingering financial crisis. It's because no government has cared about these far-flung islands, ever."

The increasing pace of arrivals is exacerbated by the existing 124,000 migrants who reached Greece and its islands by boat in the first seven months of this year.

There are more migrants reaching Greece than any other EU country - including Italy - and in July alone there were 50,000 arrivals, with around 70 per cent fleeing Syria's bloody civil war.

REUTERS

Syrian refugees line up to be documented by Greek coast guard officers on the Greek island of Kos

[The] central government isn't doing anythinh

George Hadzimarkos, prefect for the southern Aegean

Mr Hadzimarkos also claimed migrants were "ticking health bombs", citing hepatitis, malaria and tuberculosis (TB) among the greatest concerns.

He told The Times: "The inflows pose a major health hazard for local communities and beyond.

"They are ticking health bombs and that's why we want to ferry them off the island - not just because they are crowding up the islands."

The World Health Organisation has warned that the spread of TB from migrants leaving developing countries has turned into a major health threat.

Kos, home to only 30,000 people, is now sheltering 5,000 illegal migrants.

And in the early hours of Monday morning, more than 150 migrants landed on the popular holiday sland in at least six boats.

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