Greek authorities begin clearing Athens park of migrants

A migrant with his child makes his way to board a fire brigade bus to be transferred from a park to an organized camp which has been set up by the Greek state a few miles from the centre of Athens, Sunday, Aug. 16, 2015. Greek authorities say they have started resettling migrants living in tents in a park in the capital Athens, but many are wary of such a move and have moved to directions unknown thus far. (AP Photo/Yorgos Karahalis) A migrant with his child makes his way to board a fire brigade bus to be transferred from a park to an organized camp which has been set up by the Greek state a few miles from the centre of Athens, Sunday, Aug. 16, 2015. Greek authorities say they have started resettling migrants living in tents in a park in the capital Athens, but many are wary of such a move and have moved to directions unknown thus far. (AP Photo/Yorgos Karahalis)

By Associated Press August 16, 2015 2 min read

ATHENS, Greece (AP) – Greek authorities said Sunday they have started resettling migrants living in tents in a park in the capital Athens – but many were wary and had moved out ahead of the operation.

Fire brigade buses moved the migrants, most of them from Afghanistan, to a settlement of 90 containers in the Athens district of Votanikos. Each container can house six to eight people and has air conditioning, running water and a toilet.

The government has said the place is not a detention center and that everyone is free to come and go. However, police estimated that about a third of the park’s almost 300 tent residents, wary of such promises, packed their belongings and left the park earlier. Another 30 have refused to budge.

Police say a total of 171 were resettled Sunday, but many more live in other public spaces in Athens.

More than 130,000 migrants have reached Greece so far in 2015, straining the country’s resources.