
Escalating tensions in the Idomeni refugee camp in Greece led to a knife fight breaking out today between two asylum-seekers living in cramped conditions in the over-crowded camp.

Horrified bystanders looked on as a volunteer attempted to break up the violence, which broke out during what was reportedly a makeshift party at the camp.

Some 12,000 people remain camped out in the harsh conditions near the border village of Idomeni, despite daily calls by the government to move to nearby shelters built by the army.

A volunteer (left) attempts to stop a knife fight during a party in the makeshift refugee camp at the northern Greek border point of Idomeni

Shocked parents and children looked on as the volunteer (second from right) intervened in the fight, as tensions erupt at the already overwhelmed refugee camp near the Greek-Macedonia border

It comes just the day after violence broke out between police and some 300 migrants and refugees, nearby at the Greek border with Macedonia. Tensions mounted as protests intensified and thousands continued to ignore the government instructions to move to the organised shelters.

Youths threw rocks at riot police who withdrew from the area without making any arrests, authorities said yesterday.

Protesters have blocked freight rail tracks for the past eight days demanding that the border be reopened after Balkan states closed it, cutting off the migrant route to the European Union.

Rumours that the closed border would be forced open caused hundreds of hopeful asylum-seekers to flood back into the already overwhelmed camp on March 27.

The renewed influx came as Greek authorities were trying to evacuate an estimated 11,500 people who were stranded at the squalid camp after the closure of the border.

Around 250 people of all ages gathered by the railway tracks and the border fence, singing and shouting slogans in a largely peaceful demonstration watched by around 50 Greek policemen in riot gear.

Some 12,000 people remain camped out in the harsh conditions near the border village of Idomeni, despite daily calls by the government to move to nearby shelters built by the army. Pictured, a toddler sits in the middle of train tracks in the makeshift refugee camp of Idomeni, at the northern Greek border point.

Rumours that the closed border would be forced open caused hundreds of hopeful asylum-seekers to flood back into the already overwhelmed camp on March 27. Pictured, children living in the camp

Macedonia insists the border will remain closed to all migrants until at least the end of the year. Pictured, a boy living in the Idomeni camp plays on the train tracks that run through the middle of the camp

'No violence, we just want to cross,' read one banner, while another said: 'Freedom of movement is everybody's right.'

The wave of new arrivals appeared to be triggered by a rumour that international journalists and Red Cross officials would help them force their way across the fence into Macedonia, a young Syrian refugee told the Athens News Agency.

'We heard today that the border will open and we came here to cross,' he said.

'They told us the Red Cross and 500 journalists from all over the world will be with us,' he said, without specifying the source.

Another young Syrian refugee said his sister, who is living in Germany, read the same claim on the Internet and alerted him.

'People have been here for a long time. I think it's very dangerous to cross, especially for the children but what should we do?' said 24-year-old Qasim Mosawy from Afghanistan.

But Macedonia insists the border will remain closed to all migrants until at least the end of the year.

It comes as arrivals of refugees and migrants to Greece from Turkey rose sharply today. Pictured, children play at the makeshift camp at the Greek-Macedonian border, near the Greek village of Idomeni on March 30

A man holds a baby in the makeshift refugee camp at the northern Greek border point of Idomeni. The flow of migrants to the Greek islands, meanwhile, seems to be on the rise again as weather warms

Greek authorities recorded 766 new arrivals in the last 24 hours, up from 192 the previous day. Most arrived on the northeastern Aegean island of Lesbos. Pictured, a little girl crosses the train tracks at the train station near the makeshift camp

Migrants and refugees queue for food at a makeshift camp at the Greek-Macedonian border near the village of Idomeni, Greece, March 30

Children look out from a train wagon at a makeshift camp for migrants and refugees at the Greek-Macedonian border near the village of Idomeni, Greece, March 30

A young girl carries a young boy at the Idomeni camp, while in the background families queue for food supplies at the overcrowded camp

It comes as arrivals of refugees and migrants to Greece from Turkey rose sharply today just days after the European Union and Turkey struck a deal intended to cut off the flow of new arrivals.

Greek authorities recorded 766 new arrivals in the last 24 hours, up from 192 the previous day. Most arrived on the northeastern Aegean island of Lesbos.