Police stop Syrian refugees near Greek border

TIRANA, May 5 – Border police detained 16 Syrian refugees this week near a village in southeastern Albania. They had illegally crossed the border from Greece. Among the refugees, there were nine minors, including a two-month old baby. They told police that taxi drivers in Greece had given them a ride to the border for €50 each and then they had travelled on foot for 16 kilometers before being stopped by the Albanian police. The migrants came from the infamous Idomeni camp in Greece and planned to travel through Kosovo and Serbia in order to reach Germany, their final destination. They also told police they had no intention of seeking asylum in Albania and as a result will be returned to Greece. Meanwhile, the refugees have been accommodated in a reception centre for immigrants in the outskirts of Vora, near the capital pending their return to Greece. Authorities have been watchful of the arrival of Syrian refugees as the migrant crisis deteriorated in neighboring Greece and Macedonia and stepped up border security as a result. However, the anticipated massive wave has not materialized so far and arrivals of refugees have been sporadic and in small groups. Albania feared it would become part of a new migrant route with desperate immigrants attempting to cross the Adriatic Sea to Italy in order to make it to the rich countries of Northern Europe. Such a scenario also alarmed Albania’s neighbor Italy, who promised assistance in case the new route became a reality.