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A fire has ripped through a refugee shelter on the Greek island of Lesbos as tensions over a surge in migration from Turkey continue to rise.Flames engulfed the One Happy Family centre, near the island's capital Mitilini, on Saturday.It is not clear how the fire started. No causalities have been reported.In recent days, there has been hostility towards migrants on Lesbos after an increase in arrivals from Turkey.Hundreds of migrants have attempted to reach the island since Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said last week he was "opening the doors" for refugees to enter Europe.But on Saturday, Mr Erdogan partially reversed his position. He ordered the Turkish coastguard to stop migrants from crossing the Aegean Sea to Greece because it is unsafe to do so.
A group of migrants on Saturday tried to bring down a fence in a desperate attempt to bust through the border into Greece while others hurled rocks at Greek police. Greek authorities responded, firing volleys of tear gas at the youths.At least two migrants were injured in the latest clash between Greek police and migrants gathered on the Turkish side of a border crossing near the Greek village of Kastanies. As in previous confrontations this week. officers in Greece fired tear gas to impede the crowd and Turkish police fired tear gas back at their Greek counterparts.Groups of mostly young men tied ropes onto the fence in an attempt to tear it down. Some shouted “Allah is Great" while others shouted “open the border."It was not immediately clear what caused the two migrants' injuries. A Greek government official said the tear gas and water cannons were used for “deterrence" purposes.Thousands of migrants headed for Turkey's land border with Greece after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's government said last week that it would no longer prevent migrants and refugees from crossing over to European Union territory. Greece deployed riot police and border guards to repel people trying to enter the country from the sea or by land.