Tear gas fired as migrants clash with police at Macedonian border

A man holds a child near a police blockade at the Greek-Macedonian border Credit: APTN
   

Macedonian police have fired tear gas and stun grenades to disperse thousands of migrants trying to enter the country from Greece
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People could be heard screaming as some 3,000 migrants attempted to charge at police lines after they were left stuck in 'no-man's land' when the Greek-Macedonian border was shut.
A number of people were injured and required medical treatment after being crushed, witnesses said.
Macedonia declared a state of emergency yesterday as it attempted to deal with the growing influx of migrants trying to reach northern Europe.
The country has now announced it will allow a limited number of "vulnerable" migrants enter the country.Chaotic pictures from the scene showed one youngster bleeding from what appeared to be shrapnel from the stun grenades that were fired directly into the crowd.





Migrants carry an injured man after clashes with Macedonian police Credit: Reuters


The standoff on the Greek-Macedonian border is the latest flashpoint in what the EU said last week was the biggest migration crisis the continent has faced since World War II.
A spokesperson for the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) told ITV News that it is concerned about the "increasingly precarious" situation at the Greek-Macedonia border.
The UN refugee agency (UNHCR) is concerned about the increasingly precarious situation at the border between Greece and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM), where force was used earlier today to prevent people from crossing.UNHCR is particularly worried about the thousands of vulnerable refugees and migrants, especially women and children, now massed on the Greek side of the border amid deteriorating conditions.

– STATEMENT FROM UNCHR