Greek police on Friday began clearing out a makeshift migrant camp that sprung up in the disused Hellenikon airport in Athens over a year ago.
Authorities said about 100 refugees and migrants were still living in tents in the airport, down from about 3,000 last year, most of which have been moved to other sites.
Human rights groups criticized conditions there as deplorable and unfit for humans. Hundreds slept crammed in tents in the old arrivals terminal last summer, in scorching temperatures with little food and bouts of crime and violence.
Refugees stage a protest against poor living conditions at the migrant camp in the disused Helinikon airport, Athens, Greece, February 18, 2017. /VCG Photo
They were first taken to Hellenikon in November 2015 when police began transferring hundreds from the Greek-Macedonian border.
The government had long promised to empty the site, which it has agreed to lease to private investors under its bailout program, but struggled to convince the migrants to move to other camps in the mainland.
Refugees live at the disused Helinikon airport, Athens, Greece, February 18, 2017. /VCG Photo
Many migrants, mostly Afghans not eligible for a European relocation program to other member states, feared moving farther from Athens would make it harder to leave Greece.
More than 62,000 migrants and refugees heading to northern Europe have been stranded in Greece since countries in the Balkans shut their borders to those seeking passage in March last year.
(Source: Reuters)
