Moria fire in Lesbos: six young Afghans arrested

The first of the two fires that ravaged the Moria camp is said to have started after the revolt of some residents.

REUTERS / Alkis Konstantinidis

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In Greece, a week after the double fire that ravaged the Moria camp and threw 12,700 asylum seekers into the streets, the Greek police made six arrests on Tuesday, September 15.

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With our correspondent in Athens,

It was first five young Afghans - then a sixth according to the local press - who were arrested by the Greek police as part of the investigation into the double

.

Afghan nationals are the overwhelming majority among asylum seekers from Lesvos, where they represent almost half of the population.

Two of them are said to be unaccompanied minors, who had been transferred from the island to mainland Greece, just after the double fire.

The other four are said to be between 19 and 20 years old.

The arrest of the six young Afghans is said to have taken place on the basis of testimonies and video images, without the authorities providing further details at this stage. 

According to the thesis put forward by the Greek authorities, the first of the two fires would have started after the revolt of some residents of the camp, forced to isolate themselves after a positive test for the coronavirus. 

On Tuesday evening, demonstrators also gathered in the port of Mytilene, the capital of Lesvos, to express their opposition to the announced construction of a future new camp.

Part of the residents is indeed overwhelmed by the presence of thousands of asylum seekers on their island for nearly five years. 

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