HUGE FIRE HITS GREEK REFUGEE CAMP

The Moria refugee camp on the Greek island of Lesbos was almost completely ablaze in the early hours of Wednesday as strong winds of up to 70 kilometers per hour fanned the flames of fires that broke out overnight, local media reported.

Authorities had already evacuated most of people from the camp in the night, after living quarters started burning, reported Alexia Angelopoulou for Deustche Press-Agentur (dpa) late on September 9, 2020. There was no immediate information on whether there were fatalities or injured people.

The first coronavirus case was reported at the camp last week. It was reported on Tuesday that there were 35 cases. Some migrants wanted to leave the camp after an increase in cases, while some of those who were infected and those who they had contact with refused to leave the camp to be put in isolation, the ANA-MPA news agency reported.

There were conflicting reports on how the fires started - some camp residents spoke of arson by islanders, while other reports said that migrants had set fires themselves and then hindered the fire department in its work. Camp residents threw stones at firefighters and tried to prevent them putting the fires out, the head of the firefighting team said on television. Special riot police units were sent in. Videos on social media showed people wandering around looking frightened and some singing "bye bye, Moria!" Greek media reported that many people who have been living in the camp fled to the nearby forests and hills, while others set off towards the island's main town Mytilene. There have always been tensions around Moria, but the coronavirus has caused the situation to really explode, Mytilene's mayor Stratos Kytelis told Greek broadcaster ERT.

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