Police, immigrants clash on Greek island

KOS , Greece, Aug. 11 (UPI) -- Police clashed with immigrants arriving on the Greek island of Kos as authorities dealt with a lack of food and shelter.

About 1,500 recent refugees from Syria and Afghanistan have camped in the center of the resort island's main city, also called Kos. Fights broke out when police attempted to relocate them to a nearby soccer stadium for registration, and a group of immigrants blocked a major island road in a protest. Police used batons and fire extinguishers to subdue the crowds. The disagreements began after a police officer was suspended for slapping a man and threatening him with a knife.

Vincent Cochetel, the European director of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, called the immigrants' accommodations on the island "totally inadequate."

Immigrants were also heard chanting "We want papers! We want to eat!" as they formed lines for registration.

Greece's eastern islands have received over 124,000 immigrants in the first seven months of 2015, a 750 percent increase over the same period in 2014. The Greek Coast Guard reported it rescued 329 immigrants, in seven search and rescue operations, near Kos on Monday.