Two die as riots erupt in Greek refugee camp fire

Chaos reigned at the fire broke out Credit: @teammareliberum twitter

RIOTS broke out after a fire started in the heavily overcrowded refugee camp of Moria on the Greek island of Lesbos last Sunday.

Tensions have been building over the past weeks and the fact that two people are said to have died in the fire, a woman and a child, made residents start attacking the police and emergency services.

The fire itself was eventually extinguished by a plane as it was considered too dangerous for the Fire Service to continue their work on the ground.

For some time there has been anger at the number of migrants being forced to live in tents and shipping containers in an area which is supposed to house 3,000 people but has now crammed in nearer to 13,000.

Greece has appealed to Turkey to accept some of the migrants in order to reduce the number of inhabitants of the camp which is situated on the grounds of a former military barracks and has become so crowded due to huge rise in the number of asylum seekers arriving in the past few months.

Written by

John Smith

Married to Ophelia in Gibraltar in 1978, John has spent much of his life travelling on security print and minting business and visited every continent except Antarctica. Having retired several years ago, the couple moved to their house in Estepona and John became a regular news writer for the EWN Media Group taking particular interest in Finance, Gibraltar and Costa del Sol Social Scene. Currently he is acting as Editorial Consultant for the paper helping to shape its future development. Share your story with us by emailing newsdesk@euroweeklynews.com, by calling +34 951 38 61 61 or by messaging our Facebook page www.facebook.com/EuroWeeklyNews

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