Greek police finish clearing up Idomeni refugee camp

Greek police have completed clearing the Idomeni camp which served as a temporary home for thousands of migrants.

Many of the residents have been moved to official refugee centres near Thessaloniki.

Authorities have also cleared a railway line linking Greece with the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, which for months had been blocked by people protesting to be allowed passage to Northern Europe.

Vicky Markolefa, a spokesperson for Doctors Without Borders said: “People want a better future, nobody wants to stay in the mud, everybody wants to create a new home, so many people see it very positively, that it is a step forward for a better future, but what people keep saying is that they don’t want to move to another camp, they want to start their lives from scratch, they want to start building a home again, so camps are not home for people, they are just a temporary solution.”

#Idomeni is over but the misery of those who lived there has merely been displaced. What will their future hold?https://t.co/2dH6ka9A3u

— MSF Sea (@MSF_Sea) May 26, 2016

Since the Balkan route was cut off, tens of thousands of migrants were stranded in overcrowded camps in Greece.

Activists say only a fraction of Idomeni residents had accepted to be re-housed in official camps.

Some are waiting for the Macedonian border to reopen, while others are taking their chances with people smugglers.