Start date November 2015 | ||
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The Macedonian border barrier is a border barrier built by Republic of Macedonia on its border with Greece as a response to the European migrant crisis. The construction of the barrier began in November 2015, modeled similarly to the Hungarian border barrier, and it is 30km (19mi) long as of early 2016.
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History
On 29 November 2015, Macedonian army began erecting fences on the Greek border. A Moroccan man was injured in an accident that led to clashes between police and migrants that injured 18. In the early stage of the construction of the barrier, Macedonian police were attacked by the migrants, according to The Guardian. In February, Macedonian soldiers began erecting a second fence meters away from the previous one.
After Austria started to limit asylum applications on its territory in February, Slovenia, Serbia and other Balkan countries imposed restrictions on migrant entries. As a result, Macedonia restricted migrant entries to its territory, which stranded thousands of migrants in Greece, especially near Idomeni border crossing. On February 29, 2016, a group of hundreds of migrants attacked riot police with stones and attempted to break the border barrier using a battering ram made from vandalized street signs and a lamp post.
Idomeni migrant camp
In February 2016, Austria initiated closure of the Balkan migrant route. Subsequently, Slovenia barred migrants from transiting through its territory and Macedonia announced closure of its Greek border to migrants. Albania deployed extra police to guard its borders and received assistance from Italy in form of "men and equipment" on both land and sea. In March, Macedonia announced a plan to extend its 30km (19mi) barrier to 320km (200mi).
In May 2016, Reuters reported that more than 10,000 migrants were settled on the border in what has become Europe's largest refugee camp with mosques, schools and businesses.