IDOMENI, Greece — Pressed against coils of razor wire and shouting “Help us!,” refugees stranded at Greece’s northern border were pushed back Monday by Macedonian police using tear gas and stun grenades, as the European Union scrambled to ease the escalating number of stranded migrants in Greece. In a chaotic scene, Syrian and Iraqi refugees forced their way through part of a Macedonian border fence, some clutching infants or struggling to free duffel bags caught in the razor-wire fence. “Tragically, there seems to be more willingness among European countries to coordinate blocking borders than to provide refugees and asylum-seekers with protection and basic services,” said Giorgos Kosmopoulos, Amnesty’s director in Greece. The border pileup began 10 days ago, when Austria and four former Yugoslav countries on the Balkan migrant route north into Western Europe decided to slow border access for migrants to a trickle — and stopped letting Afghan migrants travel through their territory. Despite receiving the bulk of the refugees seeking the safety of Europe, Germany has opposed unilateral border restrictions and continued to back an EU-wide solution for the migrant crisis.
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