Fights among migrants break out on Greek island of Kos

A migrant sleeps inside a makeshift hut which have been set up outside an abandoned hotel where dozens of migrants have been living the last weeks at Kos town, on the southeastern island of Kos, Monday, Aug. 10, 2015. The European Union is granting 2.4 billion euros/$2.6 billion to EU nations to upgrade their migration programs with the biggest sums going to Greece and Italy where thousands of refugees have arrived this year. (AP Photo/Yorgos Karahalis) A migrant sleeps inside a makeshift hut which have been set up outside an abandoned hotel where dozens of migrants have been living the last weeks at Kos town, on the southeastern island of Kos, Monday, Aug. 10, 2015. The European Union is granting 2.4 billion euros/$2.6 billion to EU nations to upgrade their migration programs with the biggest sums going to Greece and Italy where thousands of refugees have arrived this year. (AP Photo/Yorgos Karahalis)

By Associated Press August 11, 2015 2 min read

KOS, Greece (AP) – Fights broke out among migrants on the Greek island of Kos Tuesday, where overwhelmed authorities are struggling to contain increasing numbers of people arriving clandestinely on rubber dinghies from the nearby Turkish shore.

Hundreds of protesting migrants demanding quick registration began blocking the main coastal road in the island’s main town, staging a sit-in.

“We want papers, we want to eat!” they chanted.

Hundreds of people arrive on Greece’s eastern Aegean islands daily, many after fleeing conflict in Syria and Afghanistan. Authorities, locals and charity groups are struggling to provide registration, food and shelter to the new arrivals, many of whom are children.

Many of those on Kos, a popular tourist destination, had been camping in the main town’s parks and squares.