Chaos on the island of Lesvos with the situation to have escalated almost to civil unrest: Locals armed with guns teared down entrance of military barracks where six riot police squads have sought shelter. The squads are being ordered to spend the night in the barracks after angry locals have raided the hotels where they are accommodated.
“A large crow of locals surrounded the military camp Kyriazis, broke the entrance and set up fires, while incidents are taking place,” state-run news agency amna reports without further details on Wednesday night.
Local and national media like ethnos “armed with rifles, locals fire at the riot police.”
Protesters tried to breach military barracks #Lesvos verging towards civil unrest pic.twitter.com/SuvcFxKCMK
— Giorgos Christides (@g_christides) February 26, 2020
Some local news website have also live streaming from the area.
The atmosphere resembles the one of a “war” with police unable to control the situation with the organized local groups, reportedly than 2,000 people.
“The situation is beyond control as police is being attacked with weapons,” police sources told earlier daily ethnos.
According to latest information, police are bringing heavy reinforcements to protect the barracks and their colleagues, along with water canons.
At the site where the new migration center is to be built, two police officers received gunshots earlier on Wed. They suffered injuries in the legs and were taken to the hospital.
Locals fired with rifles at a police bus.
Around 6:30 p.m., an organized group of locals raided a hotel in the Municipality of Gera, where police officers from Athens reside, state broadcaster ERT TV reported. The crowd stormed into the rooms, took the police officers’ personal belongings, threw them out and set them on fire.
A similar raid took place also on the island of Chios, with the angry crowd to have also beaten police officers who where resting, as a shocking video shows.
Locals and foreign media covering the incidents of Lesvos speak of exceptional police brutality “by the hordes from Athens,” as local media described the police forces.
Protesters tried to breach military barracks #Lesvos verging towards civil unrest pic.twitter.com/SuvcFxKCMK
— Giorgos Christides (@g_christides) February 26, 2020
Ματατζήδες σπάνε τα αυτοκίνητα σήμερα στη Λέσβο.
(Από το FB του Giorgos Moutafis)#Χιος #Λεσβος #μεταναστευτικο pic.twitter.com/xbVddMGQnb— Παρα-καντιανός (@Jimmy_Korgialas) February 26, 2020
Moving from the site of Diavolorema earlier, riot police started “to smash cars” and swear at locals with vulgar and obnoxious expressions including “Turkish seeds” a common humiliation used by mainland Greeks when the Greek refugees came from Asia Minor in 1922.
Among the smashed cars was also the car of the president of the Greek Pharmaceutical Association.
Citizens told stonisi that they would file a lawsuit against “unethical acts of violence and the unlawful actions committed by the riot police.”
Many wondered about the complete absence of the prosecution authorities in the area.
Police unions have called for the Greek Police leadership to withdraw the forces deployed on Lesvos and Chios. But their problem was reportedly the “dilettante logistic preparation (ferry cabins, hotels, water supply during operations” for the forces deployed on the islands.
The project to deploy more than 200 riot police on the islands has turned into a miscalculation and a big failure.
Government spokesman Stelios Petsas told Prime Time News of Alpha TV that some squads will return to Athens and some will remain on the islands.
Authorities and locals have called for another general strike for Thursday, February 27.
