Municipal authorities on the eastern Aegean island of Samos on Tuesday morning called for the immediate evacuation of thousands of third country nationals that remain on the island after landing from the nearby Turkish coast, a day after violence erupted between groups of asylum seekers.
According to police, groups of Afghans clashed in the center of the island’s capital and in a temporary “hotspot” shelter with groups of Syrians, with either side described as young adult males and teenagers. Three Syrian nationals were reported as injured in the violence.
An ID center within the hotspot was burned down, with many of the would-be migrants sleeping rough along the coastal road.
In protest against the situation created from the continued presence of up to 5,000 asylum seekers on the isle – individuals that have arrived from sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East and south Asia – the island’s municipal authorities on Tuesday ordered public schools closed.
Police units from the mainland arrived on the verdant island on Tuesday morning.
