Police evict over 200 migrants from Athens squats

Police in Athens on Thursday removed over 200 migrants, including dozens of children, from two squats in the city center, AFP reported. The move is part of a clean-up drive by the new conservative government.

Some 230 people, including 70 children, were removed and taken to police headquarters for identification, according to Athens municipal radio. The police declined to give details.

The migrants were showed boarding buses on ERT state TV, some of them clutching plastic bags with their belongings.

The crackdown has been opposed by anti-establishment and rights groups who say the operations unfairly target migrant families who would otherwise be homeless. Thousands of anti-establishment protesters marched in Athens on Saturday in a demonstration against the squat evacuations.