A major riot erupted at a migrant detention centre in northern Greece on Wednesday. The violent clashes injured at least two policemen and led to the arrest of 30 detainees.
One officer was hit by a stone and the other was bitten on his hand by an assailant. Both were treated by medics for their injuries, after being rescued by their colleagues. The violence broke out after migrants were spotted trying to dismantle an internal fence at the camp in Kleidi in the Serres region.
The facility holds around 750 refugees of various nationalities, who are waiting to be processed by the authorities.
Some proceeded to set fire to clothes and other materials, before a large police force was deployed.
Police brought the riot under control within an hour, arresting 29 Egyptian nationals and one Bangladeshi.
The migrants have been charged with rioting, incitement to commit crimes, attempted escape, assault and causing bodily harm.
Greece has initiated a major crackdown on immigration, introducing new harsh laws. These allow the authorities to detain migrants for up to 24 months and to impose jail sentences of two to five years on anyone deemed to have entered the country illegally.
In previous years, Athens has seen an upsurge in migrants heading to the country.
Data from the UNHCR shows that a total of 48,721 refugees and migrants arrived in Greece by sea (41,561) and land (7,160) in 2023.
That marked a massive increase of 159% from the previous year (2022). The majority of those arriving were from Syria (31.3%), Afghanistan (20%), Palestine (16.3%), Somalia (6.5%) and Eritrea (4.2%).
This year, migrant arrivals are down compared with 2024, according to the Migration Minister Thanos Plevris.
He defended Greece’s harsh migration laws and said he supported proposals backed by other European Union members to establish dedicated deportation centres.