A fire has destroyed Europe’s largest refugee camp on the Greek island of Lesbos
The government in Athens has declared a state of emergency and a delegation of officials have arrived on the north-eastern Aegean island of Lesbos to witness first-hand the scale of devastation wrought by the overnight blaze.
The island has long been at the frontline of refugees fleeing war-stricken homelands for the west particularly from Afghanistan, Syria, Iraq, Pakistan.
The camp’s overcrowded and unsanitary conditions have spawned global outrage since its inception in 2015. There is a suggestion that the fire was set intentionally by camp residents as retaliation for the prolonging of lockdown measures following the positive virus test for a Somali asylum seeker. Firefighters were hampered in their efforts by gale force winds and stone throwing refugees and it appeared the fire erupted in three separate locations.
The situation has triggered an unprecedented humanitarian crisis coupled with the already challenging circumstances created by the coronavirus pandemic. At least three dozen people living in the camp had been diagnosed with Covid-19 before the fire erupted.
Riot police units have also been flown in from Athens for reinforcement. Authorities have created a six-mile cordon around the camp to prevent former residents from attempting to reach Mytilene, the island’s port town, and police guard lined the main road connecting Mytilene with the camp. The most vulnerable refugees with disabilities and health problems will be housed on a ferry boat and two naval ships will also be dispatched to the island with tents to provide the refugees with temporary shelter. Brussels has agreed to fund the transfer of some 400 unaccompanied minors to the Greek mainland.
The facility, which had been under Covid-19 lockdown since March, was more than four times over capacity when the fire started, with close to 13,000 people living there.
