
Fighting broke out between a group of Asian migrants on the Greek island of Kos today.

Riot police did nothing as 50 asylum seekers from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iran threw rocks and exchanged blows near a passenger ship where hundreds of migrants were being registered.

Hundreds of Asian migrants were stood near the police station when the brawl broke out, possibly because they have little chance of being processed on the Eleftherios Venizelos.

The Greek authorities are giving priority to Syrians. They are treated as refugees because they are fleeing their country's bitter civil war and therefore have greater rights under international law than economic migrants.

News of the outbreak in Kos comes as experts claim nearly 250,000 migrants have crossed the Mediterranean into Europe this year and that number will top quarter-of-a-million by the end of the month.

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Eruption: A group of Pakistani, Iranian and Afghan migrants brawled with each other near a police station in Kos today

Brawl: They chanted their countries' names as they exchanged blows and threw rocks at each other near a passenger ship where migrants were being registered

Departure: Migrants and refugees line-up to board an Athens-bound ferry at the southeastern island of Kos

Fast access: The Asian migrants had little chance of being processed because the Greek Authorities are giving priority to Syrians

Fleeing war: Syrians (pictured) are treated as refugees because they are fleeing their country's bitter civil war and therefore have greater rights under international law than economic migrants.

Rival chants of 'Pakistan', 'Afghanistan' and 'Iran' were heard on the quayside as the brawl erupted. At least one migrant was kicked to the ground and others wandered the streets with blood on their faces following the fight.

Other members of the crowd - including 300 Syrians who were waiting to be processed - moved into the shade as the fighting continued for several minutes.

The riot police officers, who were drafted in earlier this week to reinforce local officers, watched from the sidelines.

'We didn't intervene because our priority is to protect the police station,' one riot policeman said.

They later used their batons to beat back a large crowd of Iranian refugees who attempted to break the police line which was blocking the entrance to the police station.

Meanwhile, migrants continue to arrive from the Turkish mainland, which lies within sight of Kos. The coast guard has rescued 212 people from four dinghies on the island's north-eastern coast.

Hostilities: Fighting broke out between groups of Asian migrants as pressure erupted into violence on the island of Kos

Violence: Asylum seekers from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iran threw rocks and exchanged blows while police seemingly did little to stop the altercation

Beaten: A man is kicked repeatedly by other migrants while lying on the ground after violence erupted on the popular holiday island

Their arrival on the south-east Greek island comes as the International Organization for Migration warns the number of asylum seekers to reach Europe this year nears 250,000

Safe: A rubber dinghy filled with Syrian men, women and children wearing colourful armbands and life vests landed on Kos this morning

The other side: The migrants, who are believed to be Syrian, smiled and cheered as they made their way up the beach to Kos Island

Elated: Their new and temporary home has been inundated with other asylum seekers who have made the short but dangerous 2.5-mile crossing from Turkey on rubber dinghies like theirs

Just after dawn on Saturday, three dinghies carrying around 30 to 50 people, came ashore.

Another rubber boat which arrived earlier this morning was carrying several young children from Syria, wearing colourful armbands and life vests.

They smiled and cheered as they made their way up the beach of the south-east Greek island where thousands of migrants from the Middle East and Africa have been sleeping rough on the streets.

A giant ferry docked there yesterday to provide temporary relief for hordes of homeless Syrian and African refugees who crossed over from Turkey on flimsy rubber dinghies.

The Eleftherios Venizelos ferry, which can carry up to 2,500 people, will double up as screening centre for migrants today.

They will be allowed to stay there while they wait for temporary travel documents to leave the island of Kos and journey on to other parts of Europe.

It will replace the island's main stadium where Greek authorities have issued documents to around 7,000 Syrians since Monday.

Earlier this week, Greek police were heavily criticised for locking over a thousand migrants into the stadium overnight - without food, shelter or access to toilets.

Crossing over: Syrian migrants arrive on an overcrowded a dinghy on a beach near the port on the Greek island of Kos this morning

Excitement: A young Syrian girl smiles as she jumps of the overcrowded dinghy, which has journeyed from Turkey, and into the water

Influx: The Geneva-based IOM said Greece has taken in around 135,000 migrants (pictured) who came over from Turkey this year

The police used fire extinguishers and batons on migrants after violence broke out in the sports stadium where hundreds of people, including young children, were waiting for immigration papers.

The head of Greek police's 'aliens an border protection' branch said on of the Syrians who arrived on Kos by late Thursday have now been registered.

Major-General Zacharoula Tsirigoti added the ferry will stay on for about two weeks to cater to new arrivals, whose numbers are expected to drop off as weather conditions deteriorate in the autumn.

Late last night, around 1,900 Syrians - clasping their papers in their hands - queued up in a fenced-off part of Kos harbour to get on an Athens-bound ferry.

Another 2,000 Syrians left Kos on Wednesday and Thursday - considerably reducing the overall number of people trapped on the island.

Tensions were reportedly high at Fenerburnu Beach in Bodrum, Turkey last night as two migrants were forced off a rubber dinghy by their furious fellow passengers. One of them shouted: 'You haven't paid!'

Disembark: Migrants and refugees (pictured) with temporary documents wait at the port of Kos, for a ferry to take them to Athens

Exodus: While these migrants wait to board a ferry to Athens, thousands more are still stuck on the island waiting to be registered so they can receive travelling documents

Anger: Tensions were reportedly high at Fenerburnu Beach in Bodrum, Turkey (pictured) last night as two migrants were forced off a rubber dinghy by their furious fellow passengers

Trouble: Migrants from the coastal town of Bodrum, Turkey, disembark their boat after it started to sink as they attempted to make their way to the Greek island of Kos

Continuous: Around 2,000 Syrians left Kos on Wednesday and Thursday - considerably reducing the overall number of people trapped on the island - but more arrive every night

Another was said to be angry that the pair of 'intruders' had touched the arm of a female migrant wearing an Islamic headscarf.

In another incident, two migrants boats were intercepted by what appeared to be a police vessel and the passengers were taken to custody.

Turkish authorities reported that 2,791 migrants have been caught in the Aegean Sea in the past five days alone - most of them Syrians.

Overall, more than 33,000 migrants have been caught or rescued in the Aegean this year, according to the governor's office in Izmir.

Kos is only 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) from Turkey at its closest point, its twinkling lights at night an irresistible beacon to those fleeing war or poverty.

The IOM says the number of migrants who have reached Europe this year is nearing 250,000 - and has already surpassed the total of 219,000 for the whole of last year.

Geneva-based IOM said Greece has reported 134,988 arrivals from Turkey this year, while Italy recorded 93,540 newcomers up to the end of July.

Adding in arrivals in Spain and Malta, the group says that 237,000 people have made the crossing in 2015. It is forecasting that the total will top a quarter-million by the end of August.