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UN: Closing borders would ‘trap' 70,000 people in Greece

A boy stands near a line of Greek policemen as migrants block a railway during a protest demanding the opening of the border between Greece and Macedonia in the northern Greek border station of Idomeni. Picture by Association Press
A boy stands near a line of Greek policemen as migrants block a railway during a protest demanding the opening of the border between Greece and Macedonia in the northern Greek border station of Idomeni. Picture by Association Press A boy stands near a line of Greek policemen as migrants block a railway during a protest demanding the opening of the border between Greece and Macedonia in the northern Greek border station of Idomeni. Picture by Association Press

A UNITED Nations migration official has warned 70,000 people are set to be “trapped” in Greece in coming weeks because countries including Macedonia are closing their borders to the flow of migrants into Europe.

Peter Sutherland, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s special representative for international migration, said the “inevitable consequence” of closed borders throughout the Balkans “is that Greece increasingly becomes a camp for refugees and migrants”.

Mr Sutherland noted that half of those arriving in Greece via the Turkish coast are Syrians, and about 70 per cent of them come straight from Syria without stopping long in Turkey, which has already taken in 2.7 million Syrians.

He urged a better international response, saying: “The issue for the global community is: Are we prepared to share responsibility, or not?”

Earlier, Greece’s prime minister called for sanctions to be imposed on European Union states that refuse to take in their fair share of refugees.

Speaking after a meeting with European Council President Donald Tusk in Athens, Alexis Tsipras promised to provide “dignified” living conditions for the more than 25,000 migrants trapped in Greece after other countries further north along the migration route to Western Europe imposed sweeping entry restrictions.

But he insisted that the solution can only be temporary and Greece will accept only its fair share of permanently resettled refugees.

Mr Tusk warned prospective economic migrants to not even think of setting off towards Europe.

He said people who are looking for a better life but are not fleeing war should not risk their lives or their money paying smugglers to bring them to Europe.

He said: “It is all for nothing. Greece, or any other European country, will no longer be a transit country.”

Mr Tusk was in Athens as part of a tour through countries worst affected by the continent’s immigration crisis.