There has been a substantial increase in the number of arrivals on the Aegean islands, according to a Greek official
There has been a substantial increase in the number of arrivals on the Aegean islands, according to a Greek official AFP / ANGELOS TZORTZINIS

Police fired tear gas at protesting migants on Monday on Lesbos, a Greek island on the frontline of the migrant crisis, an AFP photographer said.

Sordid conditions in the camp of Moria, one of the most overpopulated in Europe, triggered the latest clashes, with angry migrants demanding to be released.

Clashes also erupted at Kastanies, on the Greek-Turkish border, according to footage from the Greek government.

More people have been trying to get to Greece since Turkey on Friday said it would open the gates for refugees wanting to travel to Europe, as a way of pressuring the West to intervene in the Syrian conflict, where many refugees come from.

Migrants and refugees clashed with police and waved signs that said "we are not prisoners"
Migrants and refugees clashed with police and waved signs that said "we are not prisoners" AFP / ANGELOS TZORTZINIS

About 10,000 migrants were blocked from entering Greece at the weekend.

At Moria, police fired tear gas at demonstrators, some of whom hurled back projectiles, the photographer reported.

Built to house 2,840 people, the population of the camp is now more than 19,000.

Footage from the Greek government shows clashes escalate between migrants at the Turkish border seeking to cross the border into Greece and the Greek military. Nearly 10,000 migrants have been blocked from entering Greece after Turkish President Recep Tay
Footage from the Greek government shows clashes escalate between migrants at the Turkish border seeking to cross the border into Greece and the Greek military. Nearly 10,000 migrants have been blocked from entering Greece after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan raised the stakes by vowing to allow refugees to travel to Europe from NATO-member Turkey as a way to pressure EU governments over the Syrian conflict across its southern border. Greek government /

"We are not prisoners" read one sign held by a protester, while another summed up the general feeling about the camp with "No good Moria".

Greece has declared a state of "maximum" alert to protect its borders and has suspended asylum applications by those who entered the country illegally.

The UNHCR said Monday that Greece had no legal justification for suspending asylum procedures.

Greek asylum official Manos Logothetis said there has been "a substantial increase" in the number of arrivals on Aegean islands.

"We have gone from an average of 200-300 last week to 500-800 in recent days."

Over a 24-hour period from Sunday morning to Monday morning, around 1,300 people landed on Lesbos, Chios, Leros, Kos and Samos, the five islands that have centres to register asylum seekers, he said.