The Syrian refugees protesting in Syntagma Square were removed on Monday by the police from the area opposite the parliament, where they had camped for several days, asking to be granted asylum status,  housing as well as healthcare.

At around 3.00 am, the refugees were put into police cars and removed from the area. However, police forces remained at the spot for several hours, to ensure there were no problems.

It should be noted that on Friday a number of the protesters, mostly women and children, had been transferred to a hospitality center of the Municipality of Athens, on the initiative of Athens Mayor George Kaminis. Mr. Kaminis invited the other mayors of the Attica region to help solve the problem by offering temporary housing to the Syrian refugees.

The authorities’ intention is to transfer the rest of the protesters to temporary accommodation centers.