Dozens of asylum seekers barricade themselves in camp canteen

Dozens of asylum seekers barricaded themselves in a canteen in the Medvedov refugee camp in south-western Slovakia on Thursday. They demanded to be allowed to travel to Germany, with dozens of riot police officers deployed to tackle the revolt. According to the TV channel Markiza, the police intervention resulted in no injuries. Police Corps president Tibor Gaspar told aktuality.sk that the incident occurred after around 90 asylum seekers were given a meal. After the meal they refused to leave the canteen and began banging on tables. According to Gaspar, they were not violent. But as they didn't comply with calls to keep order, police officers had to use coercion against 45 migrants. Others were told by the facility director - via an interpreter - that they must observe the rules. TV Markiza reported that the camp, with a capacity of 152 people, is designed for accommodating immigrants who are waiting to be expelled from Slovakia. Most of the people are Syrians and Afghanis.