(ANSA-AFP) - ATHENS, 25 FEB - Riot police were dispatched to
the Greek islands of Lesbos and Chios on Tuesday as the
government ploughed ahead with the construction of controversial
new migrant camps, officials said. At the harbours of both
islands, where hundreds of local residents had gathered, police
used tear gas to clear the way for security force reinforcements
and construction machinery, a police source told AFP. At Chios
harbour on Mesta, some hooded protesters threw stones as scores
of riot police disembarked, TV footage showed. Residents have
parked cars and garbage trucks on roads leading to the camp
sites, which are to house up to 7,000 people each, in an attempt
to hobble their construction. "There are roadblocks. We will
intervene where necessary," a police source told AFP. After
weeks of fruitless talks with local authorities, Prime Minister
Kyriakos Mitsotakis over the weekend insisted that the plan
would go ahead despite opposition. "The works will begin
immediately and will be completed. There is no turning back," he
told conservative party cadres on Sunday. (ANSA-AFP).
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