Macedonian Police Use Tear Gas to Disperse Thousands of Migrants

Macedonian police have used tear gas to disperse thousands of migrants at the country's southern border, who are trying to enter the country from Greece, local media reported Friday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — According to the Vecer newspaper, the situation in the south of the country is alarming, due to a huge influx of migrants and refugees, mostly from Syria and Iraq.

The number of migrants at Macedonian's southern border reached nearly 5,000, after Greek authorities transported about 3,000 migrants from refugee camps on the Greek islands to the mainland.

On Thursday, the Macedonian government declared a state of emergency along the country's southern and northern borders and said it would deploy the army the area to tackle the situation, the newspaper said.

Europe is currently facing a major migrant crisis, as thousands of undocumented asylum seekers from conflict-torn countries in North Africa, the Middle East, Central and South Asia are arriving in Europe, hoping to escape poverty and strife in their home countries.

According to the most recent report by Frontex, the EU external border protection agency, the overall number of refugees detected at EU borders between January and July stands at 340,000. Macedonia borders the EU member states of Bulgaria to the west and Greece to the south.