Migrant dies after violent clashes with police at Greece-Macedonia border

A Moroccan was electrocuted to death on the Greek-Macedonian border on Thursday in the second straight day of clashes between police and migrants stranded on the Greek side for weeks.

The 22-year-old man was the first person to die on the land border between the two countries, prompting calls from human rights groups for both sides to protect the safety of migrants and refugees, and promises by Greece to find a quick solution to end the standoff.

The victim was among some 3,000 people, mostly from Pakistan, Iran and Morocco, stuck near the northern Greek town of Idomeni, demanding to cross into non-EU Macedonia and then on to northern Europe.

His charred body lay next to railway lines before being carried aloft in a plastic body bag by angry migrants in a protest march, a Reuters witness said.

Overwhelmed by hundreds of thousands of people coming into Europe this year, Balkan states began blocking passage last month to all but Syrians, Iraqis and Afghans, who are regarded as refugees because they are fleeing conflict.

Late Thursday, a group of mainly Iranian migrants with small children agreed to stop manning barricades that prevented refugees from entering Macedonia, and about 300 people crossed the border from Idomeni. Tired of waiting, thousands of migrants then broke through a Greek police cordon, surging to the Macedonian border, which immediately closed again.

Earlier, Police distributed fliers warning migrants that they must leave the border area within three days, and the government implied it would take more drastic action if necessary.

Macedonia has erected a metal fence to keep others out and plans to extend it to cover more than 25 miles of the border, an intelligence source who described the area as "high risk" said on condition of anonymity.

The United Nations refugee agency, UNHCR, voiced "deep concern" about the tensions, urging Greece and Macedonia to manage the border "in a manner consistent with human rights and refugee-protection principles."

Wire services