Stranded Refugees Find Alternative Way into Macedonia

Tensions rose on Monday as refugees and migrants who had been stranded for weeks at a camp inside Greece walked along the borderline and managed to cross over into the southern Macedonian village of Moin, where police and troops had been deployed in an attempt to stop them, media reported.

The Macedonian Interior Ministry confirmed that about 1,000 people had tried to illegally cross the border and said it was working on ensuring that they were returned to Greece.

There have been no reports of clashes so far, but police were not allowing reporters to reach the village.

On Monday morning, the column of refugees and migrants started moving away from the large tent camp at the Idomeni border crossing where at least 12,000 people have been stuck for weeks. 

A police spokesperson told BIRN that security forces were on alert.

"The security forces are on the ground and stand ready to react to protect the border, in accordance with instructions and international standards," the spokesperson said.

The refugees and migrants got stuck at the Idomeni camp in filthy conditions and bad weather after Macedonia, following the lead of Slovenia and other countries on the Balkan route to Western Europe, closed its borders.

The route taken by the column of refugees and migrants passed near a location where three people drowned on Sunday night in the swollen waters of Suva Reka river as they tried to enter Macedonia.

Macedonian police confirmed they had found the bodies of two males and one female in the river.

They also discovered another 23 people, Afghani nationals, who entered Macedonian territory at the same place.

Four were hospitalized while the others were transported to a refugee transit camp on the Macedonian side...