Unaccompanied minor

More immigrants and asylum seekers were released from detention centers across Greece on Thursday as the government seeks to make good on a campaign pledge to close down such facilities, citing ?inhuman? living conditions.

A fire broke out on Tuesday at the notorious Amygdaleza detention center, north of Athens. The hot water heater possibly short-circuited in a container serving as housing. This lead to incidents with some undocumented migrants held at the camp setting fire to a second container while others tried to escape.

Alternate Civil Protection Minister Yiannis Panousis said on Monday that the Radical Left Coalition (SYRIZA) government is closing the controversial migrant detention center at Amygdalezi in about 100 days. The statement was made following a meeting between mr. Panousis and Alternate Migrant Policy Minister Tasia Christodoulopoulou.

The United States Thursday warned Central American families to stop sending their unaccompanied children across the Mexican border into the United States, calling the trip dangerous and pointless.
      

Greek nongovernmental organization Praksis and the Hellenic Red Cross have inaugurated a new shelter in Patra aimed at providing relief to dozens of migrants sleeping on the streets of the western port city.

The project is funded in part by the governments of Norway, Ireland and Liechtenstein through the International Organization for Migration (IOM).