Greek church in Lesbos reportedly vandalized by refugees

PanARMENIAN.Net - The church of Hagios Georgios (Saint George) in the Greek island of Lesbos was vandalized by unknown assailants on Monday, March 2, the Greek Reporter reveals.

Some locals blame a group of migrants who live at the nearby camp for the act. They claim that when police prevented a march by hundreds of migrants demanding to be transferred to Athens, a group of around 20 went to the church and took their revenge by destroying the nave and the altar.

Images also show that the assailants destroyed icons and furniture. Hagios Georgios has been vandalized several times in the recent past, local residents say. There have been no arrests for the latest attack.

The situation on Lesbos remains tense as almost on a daily basis groups of migrants, angry with the appalling living conditions in the overcrowded Moria camp are clashing with police.

The Moria refugee camp was originally intended to hold 3,000 people. As recently as last June there were 5,000 people there, according to Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), the only major international NGO that has a presence there.

In the last six months it has grown to be a shanty town of 19,000, 40 percent of whom are under 18. Around 13,000 of those are living in a filthy unofficial camp of tarpaulin tents and makeshift huts made of pallets, in an olive grove surrounding the main site. There is no electricity, not enough water and rivers of mud and rubbish run through the tents.