THOUSANDS of refugees and migrants have spent a third night in the open on the Greek island of Lesbos after two successive nights of fires in the notoriously overcrowded Moria camp.
Some awoke after sleeping by the side of the road, having cut down reeds and used salvaged blankets to make rudimentary shelters to protect them from the night-time chill and the scorching day-time sun.
Others used tents or had just sleeping bags to protect them from the elements.
Greek authorities have said the fires on Tuesday and Wednesday evening were deliberately set by some of the camp’s residents, angered by isolation orders issued to prevent the spread of the coronavirus after 35 residents were found to have been infected.
The camp had already been placed in lockdown until mid-September, after the first case had been detected - a Somali man who had been granted asylum and left the camp, but who had returned to Moria from Athens.
Local residents have long called for the camp to be closed and aid agencies have warned about dire conditions as the camp – meant to house 2750 people – had over 12,500 living there.
On Wednesday, government spokesman Stelios Petsas stressed that none of the camp’s residents, except for 406 unaccompanied teenagers and children, would be allowed to leave the island.
“Some people do not respect the country that is hosting them, and they strive to prove they are not looking for a passport to a better life,” Mr Petsas said, stressing the fires had been deliberately set and left thousands of families homeless.
Moria houses people fleeing poverty or conflict in their homeland.
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