On Tuesday morning, the operation for the evacuation of Idomeni has started. Strong police presence is aiding the operation. The area has been cordoned off while reporters are kept 2km away. According to the police, so far the operation runs smoothly and peacefully. However, it is not clear what will happen to those who refuse to leave
The operation started early in the morning and the police reports that, until now, about 600 refugees, have boarded busses and are being relocated towards camps in the wider area of Thessaloniki.
The area has been devided into grids, the operation started from those that are close to the main road and spread towards the borders.
Four busses with #refugeesGR are leaving from #Idomeni pic.twitter.com/DLZndWXRLS
— Costas Kantouris (@CostasKantouris) May 24, 2016
More than ten squads of riot police from Athens are to be deployed at the area, while a police helicopter will also be available to aid the operation. The ministry for the Protection of Citizens has stated that the police have strict orders not to use any
violence.
Greek policemen begin evacuating the sprawling camp at #Idomeni.
Here’s @AP story: https://t.co/mbqbQP6VMc pic.twitter.com/eveCNWvxM1— Fisnik Abrashi (@fabrashiap) May 24, 2016
The operation is expected to last up to a week and almost 8500 refugees are to be transferred to areas all over Greece.
There is some speculation regarding what is going to be done with those refugees who will not cooperate with the relocation plan.