More than 200 Muslim migrants who attempted to cross the Macedonia border have been stopped in their tracks after they displayed an "Open borders or die'' banner during confrontation with policemen and border guards.
Slovenske Novice featured the image, explaining that the Muslim men attempted to break through a fence wire and attack the police.
Some protesters reportedly threw stones at police, while others screamed, 'We want to go to Germany!' and, "Open the borders!"
The migrants also chanted "Allahu Akbar'' during the confrontation, according to Speisa.com.
Macedonia is the latest country to erect a border fence with Greece, blocking a key transit route for migrants travelling from Turkey to northern and western Europe.
Hundreds of migrants are reportedly stuck in Greece after Macedonia imposed stricter border controls, allowing only refugees from Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan to pass through on their way to countries in northern Europe.
Police say about 6,000 people are stuck in the village of Idomeni in Greece, sleeping in a shelter provided by charities, in hundreds of tents or in the fields. Of the number, about 3,500 are Iranians, Pakistanis and other nationalities. The rest are from Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq.
The clashes came as Greece faces mounting pressure from its EU partners to ensure better control of its borders and register arriving migrants or face the prospect of passport checks being reintroduced for Greek citizens in Europe.
More than 600,000 migrants have flooded into Greece this year, many fleeing conflict in Syria and Iraq.
"Greece is the start of the corridor. The door is in Turkey. Therefore if the flows are not controlled in Turkey, from the coast of Turkey, it is impossible to control the flows from Greece or any other European Union member,'' said Ioannis Mouzalas, Greece's minister for migration policy.
The Daily Express reported that the United Kingdom is among the most favoured destinations for migrants from Africa and the Middle East because of Britain's extensive benefits system and ready availability of work. But many of the migrants—who include Iranians, Moroccans, Pakistanis and Eritreans—will have their journey's halted, according to reports.
Earlier, Greek police had distributed fliers warning the economic migrants that they must leave the border area within three days, implying that the Greek government would take more drastic action if necessary.
