Hundreds of refugees stuck on Albanian border

With tensions rising between EU nations, desperately vulnerable people are passed from pillar to post, unable to find asylum.

MENA

2 min read

The New Arab

26 February, 2016

Thousands of refugees have arrived in Europe since the start of this year [Getty]

Hundreds of Syrian refugees are on the borders of Albania as they search for alternative routes into Europe.

The sudden influx on the edge of the Balkans was catalysed by a series of border clampdowns in other European nations, according to Klajda Gjosha, Albania's integration minister.

"I was informed that a large number of Syrians are waiting to enter Albania," said Gjosha.

More than a million refugees have entered Europe since the beginning of 2015, with most opting to travel via Greece.

Several hundred have been stopped by Albanian authorities as they attempted to cross via the Greek border.

But plans to establish reception centres for refugees have been considered by the authorities.

As it becomes the latest European country to face an influx of refugees fleeing war and poverty, Albanian minister Gjosha said "close collaboration with all neighbouring countries" was vital.

The news comes as EU governments prepare for a major humanitarian emergency as its ability to cope with the refugee crisis breaks down.

"The possibility of a humanitarian crisis of a large scale is there and very real," said Dimitris Avramopoulos, the EU commissioner in charge of migration.

Tensions between EU members are running high as Austria announced it was limiting the number of those claiming asylum to 80 a day, while drawing up plans to divert the refugee flow away from the Balkan countries and back to Greece.

Figures show 100,000 refugees have arrived in Greece since the start of this year, according to the International Organisation for Migration (IOM).