Greece has begun setting up tents on Friday for thousands of migrants left without shelter on the island of Lesvos after a fire destroyed Greece’s biggest refugee camp three days ago.

The Municipality of Mytilini have expressed their opposition towards the development of any new refugee facility, saying they will do “anything possible” to ensure a decision is not carried out.

“The decision is final on this issue and it would be best for the competent authorities to understand this and cooperate,” the municipality said, calling on the government to “review its decision, before it is too late.”

The Municipality is not the only one with concerns however, with anger growing among residents of an island whose location a few miles (km) off the Turkish coast has kept them on the frontline of Europe’s migrant crisis for years.

“Moria is a monstrosity,” Dimitris Koursoubas, a senior official responsible for migration in the northern Aegean islands, told Reuters, saying the fire which destroyed the camp presented a “tragic opportunity” to find a new solution.

“We want all the migrants out, for national reasons. Moria is over,” he said.

Hoping to avoid a repeat of protests seen earlier this year, island authorities have not said where the shelters are being set up but helicopters with tents and other materials could be seen landing a few miles from the main port of Mytilene.

The emergency has once again highlighted Europe’s patchy response to a multi-year crisis that has seen more than a million migrants reach its shores.

“The clock has run out on how long Europe can be without a migration policy. Now is the time to change this,” Margaritis Schinas, the European commissioner responsible for migration and asylum policy, said at a press conference in Brussels.

Sourced By: Reuters

France, Germany and Switzerland are only a few of the European countries that have stood beside Greece as they face a humanitarian crisis.

Officials relocated 406 unaccompanied children to mainland Greece after a devastating blaze this week completely destroyed the Moria refugee camp.

German Interior Minister Horst Seehofer on Friday announced that on an initiative from Berlin, 10 European Union countries have agreed to take 400 unaccompanied minors from Lesvos. German Chancellor Angela Merkel added to this, confirming a a plan by France and Germany to take minors from the island, hoping other EU countries will also join.

“I asked the Greek prime minister how we can help and his request was that we take in the minors who were taken to the Greek mainland,” Merkel said.

“We have contacted France. Germany and France will participate in this.”

Stating it is a “European responsibility”, Merkel strongly encouraged all neighbouring countries to offer their support to Greece. Her confirmation came after French President Emmanuel Macron said the two countries were coordinating to find a solution to welcome refugees from the camp.

READ MORE: President Sakellaropoulou: Turkey using ‘refugees as a weapon’ to serve personal agenda
READ MORE: VIDEO FOOTAGE allegedly catches refugees and migrants starting Moria fires

He added that Europe had to stand in solidarity with Greece in face of the “terrible reality that is before us.”

While not yet pledging to take minors from the island, Switzerland have been providing aid to refugees by sending a 1.2-ton shipment of blankets and personal hygiene products. A Swiss expert is also on Friday’s flight, sent to help coordinate the distribution of the aid.

Newly released footage by Greek media has allegedly shown refugees and migrants in Moria starting the devastating bush fire that wiped out the entire camp.

Footage by Star News shows a fire being started in the middle of the camp, with migrants huddled around the blaze.

The fire expands into an out of control bush fire, ultimately leading to Moria being engulfed in flames.

Greek news agency ANA had reported that the fires broke out after some of the 35 coronavirus victims had refused to move into isolation with their families, yet this was unconfirmed.

Greek government spokesman Stelios Petsas later confirmed that the fire at Moria camp was not an accident in interview on Mega TV station.

About 25 firefighters with 10 engines battled the flames as migrants were evacuated. Some suffered injuries from smoke exposure.

A third fire on Thursday afternoon completely destroyed any remains of the former migrant camp on Lesvos.

Greece reported 372 new cases of COVID-19 infections on Thursday, its highest daily tally since the start of the coronavirus outbreak in the country.

The latest jump in cases brought the total number of infections in Greece to 12,452 and 297 deaths since its first case surfaced in late February.

Of the new cases, 114 were due to an outbreak of COVID-19 infections at a food processing plant in northern Greece, with 133 recorded in the greater Athens area, health authorities said.

The increase in infections in recent weeks has prompted Greek authorities to gradually introduce more restrictions during the peak of the tourism season.

Greece has also found at least 35 cases of coronavirus in the overcrowded migrant camp of Moria on the island of Lesbos which burned down on Wednesday, leaving thousands of migrants homeless.

The facility had been placed under quarantine after authorities confirmed that a 40-year-old asylum seeker had tested positive.

Sourced By: Reuters