EU official to visit Chios as tension grows over camps
As tensions rise on the eastern Aegean island of Chios where thousands of migrants are living in squalid conditions in overcrowded reception centers, local residents are to stage a protest rally on Thursday, calling for the immediate relocation of all the migrants.
European Commissioner for Regional Policy Corina Cretu is on Wednesday due to visit the island where the government has pledged to create a pre-departure detention facility with the aim of accelerating the return to Turkey of migrants who are not eligible for asylum.
According to sources, due to a lack of space on Chios, migrants are being transferred to Lesvos which has a “closed center” for those facing deportation within its Moria facility.
Despite the transfers, the situation on Chios is said to be very tense with frequent brawls. A 22-year-old Iraqi man was in hospital Monday with injuries sustained after three Syrians allegedly attacked him.
