The latest high-profile police operation in downtown Athens to end building “squats” targeted two buildings – facing each other – with all of the occupants evacuated identified as third country nationals, mostly from Syria and Afghanistan, and with the majority being women and minors.
One of the two buildings is a neo-classical structure, the Tositseion School, which dates to the 19th century. It was designed by noted German architect Ernst Ziller and used up until 2014 as a public school, but later left vacant.
The other property is a narrow, five-story abandoned office building. A total of 269 foreign nationals were located, including 98 minors, many of whom are pre-teens and toddlers. Both properties are located off central Acharnon Avenue.
The entire group was transported by buses to police command center for identification, before being hosted at official migrant/refugee shelters.
Α couple of handguns, believed to be replicas, and a few rounds of ammunition were also discovered during the raid.a
