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Riots erupt following a fire yesterday which killed an Afghan woman at an overcrowded refugee camp on the Greek island of Lesbos. The camp in Moria houses 13,000 in tents and shipping containers but has facilities for only 3,000 residents. The Greek government declares it will step up transfers to the mainland in response.
2019-09-30

Police in northern Greece move more than 400 Syrians and Iraqis by bus from a makeshift camp near the Macedonian border to a shelter near the northern city of Thessaloniki. More than 50,000 migrants remain stranded in Greece following European border closures, and the European Union's agreement with Turkey.
2016-06-13

Macedonian police fire tear gas at refugees as they attempted to break through a fence at the Greece-Macedonia border near Idomeni, sparking clashes that injured 200 people.
2016-04-10

Macedonia says it will no longer let any migrants through its southern border with Greece, effectively blocking the Balkan route for migrants. The decision came after Slovenia barred access to migrants transiting the country. There are around 13,000 migrants now stranded at the Macedonia-Greece border.
2016-03-9

The EU plans to boost aid to Greece and declare the route north through the Balkans closed. Presently, about 13,000 people are stranded at the Greece-Macedonia border.
2016-03-7

Greece claims that Macedonia has closed its borders to migrants from Afghanistan.
2016-02-21

Serbia closes its southern border with Macedonia to migrants from countries not affected by war as part of measures to prevent illegal immigration.
2016-02-19

Macedonia's Army begins erecting a metal fence on its southern border with Greece. Around 250 migrants later clash with Macedonian police on the border.
2015-11-28

Macedonia, Serbia, Croatia, and Slovenia shut their borders to so-called economic migrants, those not coming from war-torn countries such as Syria, Afghanistan, or Iraq, leaving thousands stranded at Balkan border crossings. Around 500 migrants from Iran, Morocco, and Algeria gather on the border between Greece and Macedonia to protest the closure.
2015-11-20

Balkan and European leaders agree to work together implementing a 17-point action plan that includes United Nations-aided accommodation for 100,000 places in reception centers along the route from Greece towards Germany, half in Greece and half in the countries to the north. Some of the other measures: within a week, deploy 400 police officers to Slovenia; step up efforts to return migrants not needing international protection; and, reinforce support of the bloc’s border agency, Frontex', role in securing external borders between Bulgaria, Turkey, Greece, Macedonia, and Albania.
2015-10-25