Operations to move thousands of refugees stranded at Greece's Idomeni camp have begun. Having been stranded at the border camp for months, those living there were told by police to pack up their belongings and make their way towards buses, which would take them to state-supervised facilities located further south.
Government officials reported that by noon, 1,110 people had left the camp.
A boy sits on a bus as he waits to be transferred to a reception centre during an evacuation operation by Greek police forces at the Idomeni makeshift campYannis Kolesidis/ AFPA photograph taken from the Macedonian side near Gevgelija at the Greek-Macedonian border, shows the evacuation operation by Greek police officersRobert Atanasovski/ AFPA family carry their belongings during an evacuation operation by police forces of a makeshift camp at the Greek-Macedonian borderYannis Kolesidis/ AFP
Idomeni is a makeshift camp, located on the sealed northern border Greece shares with Macedonia. In recent months, it has hit over-capacity after a cascade of border closures along the Balkan route in February. This had a massive affect on the usual route towards western Europe, and meant that those those fleeing war, persecution and poverty in the Middle East and Asia had no choice but to remain at the border.
A boy carries his belongings during an evacuation operation by police forces at the Idomeni border campYannis Kolesidis/ AFPA boy on a wheelchair looks at riot police officers during an evacuation operation by Greek police forces of a makeshift camp at the Greek-Macedonian borderYannis Kolesidis/ AFPA group of men run through a field to avoid being transferred to government camps, during a police operation to evacuate a makeshift camp of Idomeni at the Greek-Macedonian borderAlexandros Avramidis/ ReutersA woman looks outside from a window of a bus as she leaves the Idomeni makeshift camp on the Greek-Macedonia borderSakis Mitrolidis/ AFP
The camp has the capacity for roughly 5,000 people, yet the latest tally of people recorded was 8,199, although the number has been much higher. At one point, there were over 12,000 people living there, many of whom were families and unaccompanied children living in squalid conditions.
Greek authorities have said that the move is expected to last several days.
An excavator collects tents during an evacuation operation by police forces of a makeshift camp at the border at the Greek-Macedonian borderYannis Kolesidis/ AFPA girl looks on during an evacuation operation by Greek police forces of the makeshift camp at the Greek-Macedonian border, near the village of IdomeniYannis Kolesidis/ AFPA picture taken from the Macedonian side near Gevgelija at the Greek-Macedonian border, shows the evacuation operation by Greek police officersRobert Atanasovski/ AFPA boy carries his belongings during an evacuation operation by police forces of the idomeni makeshift campYannis Kolesidis/ AFPPolice officers patrol among tents during an evacuation operation by police forces of a makeshift camp at the border at the Greek-Macedonian borderYannis Kolesidis/ AFPPolice officers patrol among tents during an evacuation operation by police forces of the Idomeni makeshift campYannis Kolesidis/ AFPA boy carries his belongings during an evacuation operation at the Idomeni makeshift campYannis Kolesidis/ AFPA riot police officer stands in front of refugees and migrants during an evacuation operation of a makeshift camp at the Greek-Macedonian border, near the village of IdomeniYannis Kolesidis/ AFPChildren sit in the boot of a bus as they wait to board in order to leave the Idomeni makeshift campSakis Mitrolidis/ AFPA man and children carry their belongings during an evacuation operation by police forces of the Idomeni camp at the border at the Greek-Macedonian border near the village of IdomeniYannis Kolesidis/ AFPPolice vans go towards the Idomeni camp during an evacuation operationSakis Mitrolidis/ AFPPeople hug and say goodbye to each other as some leave the refugee makeshift camp near the village of IdomeniSakis Mitrolidis/ AFPClowns from a solidarity group wave to refugees onboard a bus, as they are evacuated from the makeshift camp at the Greek-Macedonian borderSakis Mitrolidis/ AFPPeople are transferred on a bus to government camps, during a police operation to evacuate the Idomeni makeshift camp at the Greek-Macedonian borderAlexandros Avramidis/ ReutersRiot policemen walk amidst tents during a police operation at the Idomeni refugee camp at the border between Greece and Macedonia
