Migrant manhunt in Athens after detention camp riot

Police in Athens were hunting almost a dozen escaped migrants on Sunday after a detention camp riot left 10 officers injured, authorities said. The police said that eight Pakistanis and two Afghans were still unaccounted for after the four-hour riot at Amygdaleza detention camp in the northeast of Athens. Another 14 migrants from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh were caught outside the blocks where they were being held, a police statement said. The riot broke out late Saturday, with detainees setting fire to mattresses and throwing stones at their guards. "Without provocation, police guards were attacked with stones, water bottles filled with pebbles and other objects," the statement said. "They also set fire to bags of garbage, mattresses and their living quarters," it added. Doors and windows were smashed and eight of the detention blocks were destroyed before riot police regained control. According to the police, the unrest began when the detainees were told that their maximum stay in the camp would be extended to 18 months from a year. Police said 41 migrants from Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Morocco were confirmed to have taken part in the riot and claimed that none were hurt in the incident. They will be charged with attempted escape, destruction of property and grievous bodily harm. Amygdaleza is one of several detention centres set up since last year to assist in the repatriation of undocumented migrants, with 1,600 currently held there, according to police. Rights groups claim that migrants have been subjected to abuse by police in the camps and are denied proper health care. Last week, leftist rights group KEERFA said Muslim detainees had been beaten by guards during prayers. In July, the same group reported the death of an Afghan detainee from a lung infection that his guards had allegedly ignored for months. Greece is a primary point of entry into the European Union for migrants and refugees fleeing war-torn and impoverished countries in Africa, the Middle East and the Indian subcontinent. The influx has put additional strain on the recession-hit country's health services and prison facilities, forcing Greece to turn to the EU for help to patrol its frontiers. Over the past year a nationwide operation has removed undocumented migrants from the streets, ironically codenamed Xenios Zeus after the king of the ancient Greek gods in his role as a protector of guests. According to the police, more than 5,400 people had been arrested by the end of July "for unlawful residence and other immigration-related infractions." But rights groups such as Human Rights Watch say the operation seems designed to show the conservative government's effectiveness against illegal immigration. Currently, voters are increasingly drawn to Golden Dawn, a violently anti-migrant neo-Nazi party that has gained in popularity during Greece's recession.