Refugee woman forced to wash her newborn baby in a puddle at Greek border
03.15.2016

Shocking images show the appalling conditions more than 14,000 migrants are facing at a camp near the village of Idomeni on the Greek-Macedonian border

 

A mother washes her baby in a puddle as migrants face appalling conditions

Harrowing pictures show the moment a mother is forced to wash her newborn baby in a puddle as migrants face appalling conditions in an overcrowded refugee camp on the Greek-Macedonian border.

More than 14,000 migrants are crammed into a camp near the village of Idomeni as Balkan countries continue to seal their borders to stop refugee families progressing further into Europe.

There have also been outbreaks of violence in the camp as aid organisations try to distribute medical supplies and food.

Greek officials have ruled out using force to remove migrants as conditions inside the camp become increasingly desperate.

Nikos Toskas, a deputy minister for public order, said: "We have to persuade them (to move) and we can't do that using tear gas. Half the people there are women and children."

 

ReutersMigrants sit on the rail tracks at a makeshift camp on the Greek-Macedonian border, near the village of Idomeni, Greece
Migrants sit on the rail tracks near the village of Idomeni

 

 

GettyPeople gather around fires as the evening light fades at the Idomeni refugee camp on the Greek Macedonia border
The camp has been hit by flooding in recent weeks

 

 

Macedonia closed its borders to all migrants and refugees this week after several Balkan countries and Austria began imposing restrictions in February.

The president of Macedonia has defended the decision, saying his country would have been 'flooded with jihadists' if it had accepted more refugees.

 

GettyChildren walk down railway tracks leading to Macedonia at the Idomeni refugee camp on the Greek Macedonia border
More than 14,000 migrants are currently living at the camp

 

 

GettyMigrants and refugees queue to receive food
Hundreds of migrants queue to receive food

 

He said: "If we had trusted Brussels and had not reacted on our own initiative, we would already have been flooded with jihadists."

 

The move has attracted criticism from a number of leading European politicians, including German Chancellor Angela Merkel .

 

Getty ImagesSyrian and Iraqi refugees trapped at the Greek-Macedonian borders demonstrate shouting 'open the border' as they block the train tracks on February 28, 2016.
Refugees plea with authorities to open the border

 

 

Dan Kitwood/Getty ImagesA view of the barbed wire fence along the Greek-Macedonia border
A barbed wire fence has been installed along the Greek-Macedonian border

 

Magir Asfour, who fled fighting in the Syrian city of Aleppo, said: "Our tent is wet. We didn't sleep last night. It flooded.

"I'm carrying wood in the morning and my wife is waiting two hours in the rain to get a couple of sandwiches and an orange for my child."