
Hundreds of migrants rushed to overrun Greece's overwhelmed Idomeni camp after rumours circulated that the sealed border with Macedonia was due to open.

Swathes of people descended on the camp as the Greek authorities tried to evacuate an estimated 11,500 people already stranded in its squalid conditions.

Pressure on the decrepit make-shift settlement has grown after Balkan states slammed shut their borders, cutting off the migrant route to the European Union.

About 250 people of all ages conveyed a message of peace as they gathered by the railway tracks and the border fence, singing and shouting slogans while they were watched by Greek police in riot gear.

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Help Us: Children were held up during the protest where migrants demanded they be let through Greece's closed border with Macedonia

Wall: A team of Greek riot police stood on guard at the camp but the protest was a peaceful one without any aggression towards officers

Groups of frustrated migrant men jostle with each other as the police hold the line across train tracks outside the Idomeni camp

Decrepit: The influx came as Greek authorities tried to evacuate 11,500 people from the camp with conditions getting worse there

Tears: An elderly migrant woman in a wheelchair was seen crying during the protest at the makeshift camp, as emotions ran high

Many elderly handicapped refugees were sitting in wheelchairs sobbing while many other people, who had dismantled their tents in order to be ready to cross the border quickly, were waving white handkerchiefs.

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

Some in the crowd, however, attempted to move towards the police line but were blocked by others who formed a human chain.

However, arguments did erupt within the crowd when Syrians and Iraqis accused the Afghans and Pakistanis of wanting to push their way through, one witness said.

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

He said: 'We heard today that the border will open and we came here to cross. They told us the Red Cross and 500 journalists from all over the world will be with us.

A newborn baby is left in a bundle of clothes as migrants stand around the youngster at the protest held outside the camp

Crowds: Migrants of all ages flocked to the already overcrowded camp after rumours circulated that journalists would help over the border

Frown: Families with young children are common among the camp's residents and pictured, a girl looks suspiciously at a photographer

The protests at Idomeni were without violence but there was scuffles when Syrians and Iraqis accused the Afghans and Pakistanis of trying to push their way through the crowds to the border

The latest influx of migrants to the camp will add to the ever swelling numbers who call it home and pictured many cram onto the roof of a temporary building to grab a view of the protest

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

Qasim Mosawy, from Afghanistan, said: '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?'

Dozens of other migrants could be seen heading through the fields, carrying babies, towards the Idomeni crossing.

'We are trying to step up our information campaign to the refugees. Some people, for reasons we don't understand, are creating false hope,' said Giorgos Kyritsis, spokesman for the SOMP agency which is coordinating Athens' response to the refugee crisis.

Using loudspeakers, Greek officials told those gathering that the crossing would remain closed, repeating the message in both Arabic and Farsi, ANA said.

Many of the migrants believe that a basic human right to move freely was taken away when the border was closed and pictured, a woman lets her feelings towards the Greek police known with an unimpressed scowl

Many of the migrants have been at the camp for a long time and say that they have no choice but to make the dangerous border crossing

Soft touch: A migrant boy is patted on the head as he walks past the line of riot police stationed during the protests at the Idomeni camp

Goodwill: A migrant holds a banner wishing Christians a happy Easter as a wall of riot police contains the crowd at the Idomeni camp

Two weeks ago, hundreds of people were stopped by Macedonian troops after crossing a surging river on the border. Bypassing the regular crossing, they tried to wade through the fast-flowing water, clinging to a rope strung between the banks.

Three Afghans, including a pregnant woman, drowned. The rest were stopped by Macedonian troops and sent back to Greece.

'Macedonia will not allow (the) reopening of the Balkan route,' Ivica Bocevski, a representative of Macedonian President Gjorge Ivanov, said in the wake of the incident.

The bottleneck has left around 50,000 refugees and migrants stranded across Greece, which has stepped efforts to evacuate Idomeni.

A man hugs a little girl as the intimidating line of riot police stand behind, with crowds of migrants looking through a fence in the distance

On Friday and Saturday, 11 buses transported around 600 refugees from Idomeni to other camps in northern Greece but those who stayed wait with the hope that the rumours about the border are true. Pictured, migrants hold banners as they hold their protest

While even the able bodied are forced to fight for their survival in the camps and while crossing into other countries, the future for disabled migrants appears to be even bleaker. Pictured, two migrants in wheelchairs are photographed by the media outside Idomeni

On Friday and Saturday, 11 buses transported around 600 refugees from Idomeni to other camps in northern Greece.

Those persuaded to board the first buses were mainly parents with children who can no longer tolerate the difficult conditions there.

But others are holding out at Idomeni.

'People who have no hope or no money, maybe they will go,' said 40-year-old Iraqi Fatema Ahmed, who has a 13-year-old son in Germany and three daughters with her in the camp.