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Klaas Dijkhoff (Photo: Rijksoverheid.nl/Wikimedia Commons)
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Klaas Dijkhoff (Photo: Rijksoverheid.nl/Wikimedia Commons)
Unrest at Greek asylum camp during Dutch Justice Sec. visit
State Secretary Klaas Dijkhoff of Security and Justice was faced with riots during a visit to a asylum camp on the Greek island of Lesbos on Tuesday. Asylum seekers threw stones while shouting "freedom" and "open borders", AD reports.
Dijkhoff was visiting the Moria asylum camp with Greek Minister Yiannis Mouzalas. The camp is a kind of detention center where asylum seekers live while waiting to be deported to Turkey. Dijkhoff was in Greece to discuss the progress of the asylum agreement the EU made with Turkey.
The riots started towards the end of Dijkhoff and Mouzalas' visit. It is unclear whether they were aimed at them directly or just out of general frustration. Dijkhoff was a safe distance away from the riots when it started, a spokesperson for the State Secretary said to the newspaper.
The situation deteriorated further after the officials departed. Several fires were started and protesters had run-ins withthe police.