Macedonia blocks migrants on border with Greece

1Thursday, Aug. 20, 2015 | 11:03 a.m.
2Police vehicles drive to the border between Greece and Macedonia in the southern Macedonian town of Gevgelija, Thursday, Aug. 20, 2015.
3Macedonian police stepped up the security at the border with Greece apparently trying to stem recent surge of migrants who are coming from Greece.
4A police helicopter flies near the border between Greece and Macedonia, near the southern Macedonian town of Gevgelija, Thursday, Aug. 20, 2015.
5Police vehicles drive to the border between Greece and Macedonia, near the southern Macedonian town of Gevgelija, Thursday, Aug. 20, 2015.
6A police helicopter flies over railroad tracks near the border between Greece and Macedonia, near the southern Macedonian town of Gevgelija, Thursday, Aug. 20, 2015.
7Blocked migrants wait at no-man's land between Greece and Macedonia near the southern Macedonian town of Gevgelija, Thursday, Aug. 20, 2015.
8Thousands of migrants were stranded Thursday on no-man's land between Macedonia and Greece, from where they planned to catch trains that would take them to the Serbian border on their way to EU-member Hungary.
9A Macedonian police officer blocks migrants at no-man's land between Greece and Macedonia near the southern Macedonian town of Gevgelija, Thursday, Aug. 20, 2015.
10Macedonian police block migrants at no-man's land between Greece and Macedonia near the southern Macedonian town of Gevgelija, Thursday, Aug. 20, 2015.
11Thousands of migrants were stranded Thursday on no-man's land between Macedonia and Greece near the Macedonian town of Gevgelija, from where they planned to catch trains that would take them to the Serbian border on their way to EU-member Hungary.
12Workers are cleaning the railway station in the southern Macedonian town of Gevgelija, Thursday, Aug. 20, 2015.
13A boy rides a bicycle at the railway station in the southern Macedonian town of Gevgelija, Thursday, Aug. 20, 2015.
14Locals speak in front of the railway station in the southern Macedonian town of Gevgelija, Thursday, Aug. 20, 2015.
15A migrant girl looks as police officers secure the railway tracks before a train that would take the migrants towards Serbia enters the railway station, in the southern Macedonian town of Gevgelija, Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2015.
16Record numbers of migrants from countries like Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan uses the so-called Balkan route that passes trough Macedonia.
17A police officer gives instructions to migrants rushing to board a train that would take them towards Serbia, at the railway station in the southern Macedonian town of Gevgelija, Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2015.
18Two migrants try to rush on a train that is passing through Macedonia toward the Serbian border near the southern Macedonian town of Demir Kapija, Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2015.
19Migrants with a one-month old baby travel on a train taking them towards Serbia, near the southern Macedonian town of Demir Kapija, Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2015.
20Migrants travel on train taking them towards Serbia, near the southern Macedonian town of Demir Kapija, Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2015.
21Migrants look out of a window onboard a crowded train taking them towards Serbia, at the railway station in the southern Macedonian town of Gevgelija, Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2015.
22Macedonia stepped up security on its border with Greece on Thursday, stranding thousands of migrants on a dusty field.
23The government proclaimed a state of emergency and said it is deploying troops as it tries to stem a surge of migrants from the Middle East, Asia and Africa.
24Macedonian police spokesman Ivo Kotevski said both police and the army will control the 50-kilometer (30 mile) stretch of the border in order to stop a "massive" influx of migrants coming from Greece.
25"This measure is being introduced for the security of (Macedonian) citizens who live in the border areas and better treatment of the migrants," he said.
26The measure could create a huge backlog of migrants on the Greek side of the border, from which some 2,000 a day have been illegally crossing into Macedonia, an impoverished country overwhelmed by the surge.
27Hundreds of migrants from the Greek island of Kos planned to move into Macedonia in the next few days.
28Until now, the border has been porous, with only a few patrols on each side.
29Sealing it would disrupt the so-called Balkan corridor for migrants who start in Turkey and take boats to Greece or walk to Bulgaria, then make their way through Macedonia or Serbia en route to the wealthier countries of the European Union.
30Almost 39,000 migrants, most of them Syrians, have been registered passing through Macedonia over the past month, double the number from the month before.
31Thousands of migrants were stranded Thursday in a no man's land near the Macedonian town of Gevgelija, from which they planned to catch trains that would take them to the Serbian border on their way to Hungary, which is building a fence to try to keep them out.
32A police helicopter hovered nearby and officers in armored vehicles watched the crowd.
33"We can't believe that we are here from this morning," said Ahmet Husa of Syria.
34"People from Syria escaped from war, escaped death and we want to see our future in Europe. We need this road to see our future."
35For months, the train station in Gevgelija was the scene of skirmishes between baton-wielding policemen and migrants trying to secure places on overcrowded trains.