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              Greece Launches Military Exercise Over Migrant Camp

   by VOA News

   The Greek army launched an unscheduled military exercise Thursday along
   its border with Macedonia and a cluster of islands near Turkey, with
   fighter jets passing over a tent city in Idomeni near the border.

   Sources within the Greek army confirmed that emergency maneuvers had
   been ordered in the northern city of Kilkis and in Oinousses, a chain
   of Greek islands off the coast of Turkey. The drills involved an
   airborne special forces unit backed up by aircraft, and air defense
   units along the island chain.

   The military exercise comes at a time of increased tensions among
   Greece and the two neighboring countries over the refugee crisis. On
   Wednesday, for the second time in three days, clashes erupted at the
   tent city between Macedonian police and refugees protesting the border
   closings that left more than 11,000 of them stranded in the camp.

   ''

   On Sunday, around 300 migrants were injured in Idomeni when they tried
   to break through a border fence and Macedonian riot police used rubber
   bullets and tear gas to push them back.

   Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras condemned the Macedonian police
   after the clash with protesters, saying their use of rubber bullets and
   tear gas against unarmed migrants was "shaming" Europe.

   Macedonia denied using rubber bullets and said the migrants were
   throwing rocks at police officers.

   Greece has accused Turkish warplanes of repeatedly entering Greek
   airspace, flying over the Oinousses islands, though Turkey disputes
   whether the area should, in fact, be controlled by Greece.

   According to a source in the Greek air force, the two sites were chosen
   for the unscheduled war games because they were high-profile and had
   "been in the news" in recent days.

   Some material for this report came from AP and AFP.
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   r-migrant-camp/3285513.html

References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/greece-launches-military-exercise-over-migrant-camp/3285513.html