Rep. of Macedonia erects fence, borders closed

Tension has gripped the neutral zone between Greece and Rep. of Macedonia since yesterday, as the refugees and migrants there have been informed that only citizens of Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq will be entitled to pass freely from now on.

This morning about 100 Iranians were near the neutral zone and begged to be allowed to cross the border, resulting in the Macedonian authorities closing the border shortly after 8:00 am.

Croatian Minister of Interior Ranko Ostojić confirmed on Thursday, November 19, 2015 that Croatia is closing its borders for economic migrants. Refugees from Iraq, Syria, Palestine and Afghanistan will still be accepted and registered before they continue their journey to Slovenia and further on to their final destination.

This decision comes as a chain reaction since the same measure was implemented last night and early this morning by Serbia and Macedonia. Slovenia has also closed its borders for economic migrants and already tried to send 162 people back to Croatia, all of them coming from countries that are not considered war zones (Morocco, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Liberia). Croatia denied the request so those migrants are still in Slovenia.

Rep. of Macedonia has started to place barbed wire along the border with Greece in implementing the decision of the security council.

The workers are preparing the terrain with bulldozers and tractors, opening holes in which iron columns for the wire fence will be placed. This will close the main passage for those refugees and migrants who arrive in the country from Greece. The fence will be erected on the railway line in the village of Idomeni, near the shore of the river Axios, and it will cover a distance of 1.5 km. The installation work is carried out by members of the military.

According to the Greek newspaper Kathimerini, a possible permanents closure of the border between Greece and Rep. of Macedonia will direct the refugee flood to the “route crossing the Danube”, which includes Bulgaria, Romania and Serbia. He recalls that the Prime Ministers of the three countries have recently met in Sofia and announced that, in the presence of such a possibility, they will close their state borders too.