Thousands of asylum seekers spent their third night in the open near the Moria camp, which was destroyed by two fires, as the Greek government was facing difficulties in helping them, while Berlin announced that 10 European Union countries would receive 400 of them.

After the camp fire on the Greek island of Lesbos, the police strengthened their presence and prevented migrants from reaching a nearby port, while rescue teams deployed at the scene.

Greek officials blamed the migrants for the outbreak of fires that broke out after 35 people were tested positive for the new Corona virus, and were forced to undergo isolation measures.

The plight of stranded families has prompted other European countries to offer to receive hundreds of asylum seekers, especially unaccompanied youth.

In a sign of growing frustration, hundreds of refugees staged a protest on the road between their charred camp and a nearby town, holding signs reading "We want freedom" and "We don't want a new camp."

The Moria camp is one of dozens of camps that were established in Greece after the influx of migrants to Europe in 2015, and it was suffering from severe overcrowding, as it housed a number equivalent to 4 times its capacity, and it became a source of discontent for the authorities and the population on the island.

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis announced that his government would rebuild the camp.

But island residents have set up roadblocks near the burning camp to stop attempts to clear the site and redistribute asylum seekers elsewhere.

"Now is the time to close Moria permanently. We do not want another camp, and we will oppose any new construction work. We have faced this situation for 5 years, it is time for others to bear this burden," said local politician Vagilis Violatzes.

While no one was seriously injured in the fires, the fires destroyed the official part of the camp on Tuesday, where 4,000 people live.

Another fire on Wednesday also destroyed most of the remaining parts of the camp, where another 8,000 people were living in tents and wooden huts.

Ferries were dispatched to the island to provide the migrants with a place to sleep.

Greece


has complained Greece has long complained that its European Union partners have done little to help since the country became one of the main gateways to Europe for migrants and asylum seekers in 2015.

The EU-wide asylum system collapsed under the pressure of hundreds of thousands of arrivals, so that other European countries only accepted a few refugees and thousands were left in Greek camps.

On Friday, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis called for the "active" participation of the European Union in hosting thousands of refugees.

"We will discuss the maximum European participation in these efforts. European solidarity cannot be reduced to managing a crisis," he said after a meeting with Vice President of the European Commission, Margaritis Skinas.

For his part, German Interior Minister Horst Seehofer announced Friday that 10 European Union member states will receive about 400 minor immigrants who are not accompanied by adults who have been evacuated from the island of Lesbos.

"Our contacts with the member states of the European Union have allowed 10 of them to participate in transporting" these minors, he said, explaining that Germany and France will take care of between 100 and 150 of these children.

Germany had called for more solidarity in Europe, and on Thursday agreed with France on an initiative for the European Union countries to share about 400 children and youth who were evacuated from the camp.

The Netherlands and Finland offered to take in some young immigrants.

On Thursday, the Vice President of the European Commission, Margaritis Skinas, visited Lesbos.

He said that the UNHCR had organized the transfer of 400 unaccompanied minors to the mainland with the aim of transferring them to Europe.

"In the next few hours, there will be ships funded by the European Union to provide shelter to the vulnerable and need help most," he added.

Many desperate families live without tents or mattresses, making them make makeshift sleeping arrangements along the roads.

Hunger and thirst


, "We lost everything," says Fatima Al-Hani, a Syrian from Deir Ezzor.

"We were left to our fate without food, water or medicine," she said carrying her two-year-old child.

"We have been suffering here for 3 days," said Congolese asylum seeker Patricia Pope, sitting on the side of the road. "We are hungry and thirsty and do not have toilets."

The Greek government tightened restrictions on asylum and residency requirements and cut cash allocations in an attempt to stem the flow of migrants.

The government also passed a law aimed at limiting the access of NGOs and charities to the camps and strengthening formal control.

Some NGO workers said they had to hide from the security forces while helping migrants stranded by the new rules.

And on social media, activists launched "Do not leave anyone behind you," in an invitation to European countries that agreed to receive part of the refugees who became homeless after the fire at Moria camp.

They called on European governments to provide a fair distribution of refugees without leaving anyone in the camp.