Clashes erupt between Kurds and Arabs in Greek camp over fasting
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — Disagreements between Kurds and Arabs about fasting during Ramadan "severely" injured at least 10 Kurds at a refugee camp on the Greek Island of Lesbos.
"The fight began when some Arab youth started to fight with Kurds over fasting," Mohammed Khalil, a 19-year-old Kurdish migrant from Kobane in Syria, told Rudaw on Saturday from Lesbos.
Moria Refugee Camp is located on the Island of Lesbos. In 2016, the European Union and Turkey signed an agreement to prevent migrants from reaching Europe. The Greek government confined tens of thousands of asylum seekers on five islands — at least 7,600 on Lesbos.
"I was fasting yesterday, yet some Arabs from Syria, Iraq, Yemen, and Algeria came and said Rojava [Syrian Kurdistan] Kurds are infidels and don't fast. Then the fight started. The refugee Arabs went and later came back together. A bloody fight happened," Khalil added.
"Lesbos, among the other Greek Islands, has since 2015 been at the frontline of Europe’s refugee response. Since then, the media gaze has trailed off but the cumulative impact of EU border policies has unfolded," InfoMigrants reported on May 3.
Fights at migrant camps between different ethnic groups aren't uncommon.
"Often fights happen between refugees over minor issues. Just last night, another Kurd was injured because of fighting between refugees," Gorran Mawloud, a Kurd at a camp in Athens, told Rudaw.
"The fight began when some Arab youth started to fight with Kurds over fasting," Mohammed Khalil, a 19-year-old Kurdish migrant from Kobane in Syria, told Rudaw on Saturday from Lesbos.
Moria Refugee Camp is located on the Island of Lesbos. In 2016, the European Union and Turkey signed an agreement to prevent migrants from reaching Europe. The Greek government confined tens of thousands of asylum seekers on five islands — at least 7,600 on Lesbos.
"I was fasting yesterday, yet some Arabs from Syria, Iraq, Yemen, and Algeria came and said Rojava [Syrian Kurdistan] Kurds are infidels and don't fast. Then the fight started. The refugee Arabs went and later came back together. A bloody fight happened," Khalil added.
Videos shared on social media showed a fraction of the fight that Khalil said involved "100s" of Kurds and Arabs.
Khalil denied that anyone was killed in the fighting on Friday.
"I am at the camp where the fight happened. No Kurd or Arab was killed in the fight, but there are some who severely injured," adding that 17 Kurds were injured — 10 severely.
InfoMigrants is a news and information portal that has described the Moria camp at three times its capacity. The web portal collaborates with France Médias Monde, Deutsche Welle, and Italy's ANSA. The organization is co-financed by the European Union.
"Lesbos, among the other Greek Islands, has since 2015 been at the frontline of Europe’s refugee response. Since then, the media gaze has trailed off but the cumulative impact of EU border policies has unfolded," InfoMigrants reported on May 3.
Fights at migrant camps between different ethnic groups aren't uncommon.
"Often fights happen between refugees over minor issues. Just last night, another Kurd was injured because of fighting between refugees," Gorran Mawloud, a Kurd at a camp in Athens, told Rudaw.