Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Moria fire: Germany set to take in 1,500 migrants from Greek islands

Refugees from Afghanistan, Africa and Syria, were left without shelter after the Moria fire 

Andreas Rinke
Tuesday 15 September 2020 07:44 EDT
Comments
More than 12,000 people living in overcrowded conditions in the notorious Moria refugee camp on Greece’s Lesbos island were displaced after a massive blaze that swept through early on Wednesday
More than 12,000 people living in overcrowded conditions in the notorious Moria refugee camp on Greece’s Lesbos island were displaced after a massive blaze that swept through early on Wednesday (Getty Images)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Interior Minister Horst Seehofer have agreed to take in around an additional 1,500 migrants from the Greek islands after a fire left thousands homeless, German government and coalition sources said.

More than 12,000 people, mostly refugees from Afghanistan, Africa and Syria, were left without shelter, proper sanitation or access to food and water after a fire tore through the overcrowded Moria migrant camp on the Greek island of Lesbos last Wednesday.

The sources told Reuters Germany would home migrants whose asylum applications have already been accepted, adding that they would not only take refugees from Lesbos.

There are around 30,000 refugees and migrants on the Greek islands in total.

They said Seehofer had made the proposal and Merkel had agreed.

Leading politicians from the parties in Germany’s ruling coalition government had agreed to try and reach an agreement by Wednesday on how many migrants they would accept in addition to the 100-150 unaccompanied minors they had already promised to house.

Berlin has been facing growing calls from regional and local politicians who have said they would take in people from the camp if the federal government allowed them to.

Reuters

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in