.Clashes erupted after Macedonia declared state of emergency to deal with massive influx of migrants heading north
- .One youngster was hit with shrapnel from stun grenades fired directly into the crowd and at least eight others hurt
- .Police backed by armoured vehicles also spread coils of razor wire over rail tracks used by refugees to cross border
- .Migrants from Middle East have flooded into Europe, overwhelming countries from Greece and Germany to Britain
Macedonian riot police fired stun grenades and tear gas to disperse thousands of migrants trying to force their way into the country from Greece.
A crowd of 3,000 migrants who spent night outside stuck in a dusty no-man's land made several attempts to charge officers after the border was shut to crossings.
One youngster was bleeding from what appeared to be shrapnel from the stun grenades that were fired directly into the crowd and at least eight other people were injured in the melee.
In other shocking scenes, a father was forced to shield his terrified toddler son after getting trapped between a line of riot police and a surge of refugees scrambling to break through the cordon.
Police backed by armoured vehicles also spread coils of razor wire over rail tracks used by migrants to cross on the border on foot.
Macedonia declared a state of emergency to deal with a massive influx of migrants from the Middle East and Africa who have flooded into Europe in recent months, overwhelming countries from Greece and Italy to Germany, France and Britain.
Terror: A migrants hold his toddler after getting trapped between Macedonian riot police officers and crowds of refugees during clashes near the border train station of Idomeni, northern Greece, as they wait to be allowed by officers to cross the border from Greece to Macedonia
Migrant help the man holding his boy to feet as they try to get through a line of Macedonian riot police officers on the border with Greece
The clashes erupted a day after Macedonia declared a state of emergency to deal with a massive influx of migrants heading to northern Europe
Hundreds of migrants try to force their way through Macedonian riot police at the Greek-Macedonian border in a bid to reach northern Europe
Macedonian police vehicles are seen behind migrants who spent the night stranded in a dusty no-man's land near the border with Greece
Macedonian police fired stun grenades and tear gas to disperse thousands of migrants trying to force their way into the country from Greece
Police spokesman Ivo Kotevski said police and the army will control a 30-mile stretch of the border to stop a 'massive' influx of migrants coming from Greece.
'This measure is being introduced for the security of (Macedonian) citizens who live in the border areas and better treatment of the migrants,' he said.
Macedonia's Interior ministry later said it wold allow a limited number of 'vulnerable' migrants to enter the country, but did not specify what the vulnerable categories were.
In a statement, it said police issued temporary transit documents to 181 migrants, mostly from Syria, Bangladesh and Pakistan, wanting to cross the small Balkan country on their way to northern Europe in the last 24 hours.
Before the state of emergency it was issuing an average of 1,300 such documents a day, it added.
Greece has seen an unprecedented wave of migrants from the Middle East, Asia and Africa crossing clandestinely to its islands from the nearby Turkish coast.
The closure of the border could create a huge backlog of migrants on the Greek side, from where 2,000 a day have been illegally crossing into Macedonia, an impoverished country overwhelmed by the surge.
Many come from Greece's eastern islands, having made the perilous journey to escape war or persecution in Iraq, Syria and other countries in the Middle East.
Face-off: Migrants clash with Macedonian police near the town of Idomeni on the Greek as they try to force their way across the border
An injured migrant lies on the ground after a clash with Macedonian police near the border train station of Idomeni, northern Greece
One youngster was hit by shrapnel from stun grenades fired directly into the crowd and at least eight other people were injured in the melee
An injured migrant lays on the ground at Greek-Macedonian border near the town of Idomeni, northern Greece during clashes with police
Harsh reality: Migrants seeking a better life in Europe have faced tear gas and dangerous crushes trying to board trains in MacedoniaN
The Greek coast guard said today that a patrol boat from Europe's border agency Frontex had spotted a capsized vessell off the island of Lesbos. One migrant was found dead and 15 others were rescued.
Separately, the coast guard said it had picked up 620 people in 15 search-and-rescue operations in the last 24 hours off the islands of Lesbos, Samos, Agathonissi, Leros, Farmakonissi, Kos and Megisti.
That doesn't include the hundreds more who have reached the islands on their own.
Two days ago, the Greek government was forced to charter a passenger ferry to take 2,500 refugees from its overwhelmed islands to Athens, where they promptly boarded trains to the Macedonian border.
From there, they hope to catch more trains to Hungary, the first country on the route in Europe's Schengen zone comprising 26 countries that have abolished controls at their common borders.
Almost 39,000 migrants, most of them Syrians, have been registered passing through Macedonia over the past month, double the number from the month before.
Among those lucky enough to get across the border is Amina Asmani who fought her way past baton-wielding riot police with her 10-day-old baby in her arms to board a train.
It is a step closer to her dream destination: Germany.
The Syrian migrant, from the embattled town of Kobane, felt lucky that she, her son and husband overcame the ordeal of getting on the train, where officers beat back others.
The next day, Macedonia blocked thousands of migrants from crossing the border from Greece, leaving them stranded in a dusty no-man's land.
On the packed train, Asmani carefully placed her rosy-cheeked baby in a cot.
She said she gave birth on a Greek island while joining the massive migrant exodus from countries wracked by war and poverty.
'We want to go to Germany to find a new life because everything has been destroyed in Syria,' she said, holding her husband's hand and tenderly watching the baby who feverishly sucked on a pacifier.
'The policemen let us on the train only because they felt sorry for the baby.'
Melee: Police with riot shields confront migrants at the railway station in the Macedonian town of Gevgelija as they scramble to board trains to more prosperous countries in the European Union. Clashes erupted a day after Macedonia declared a state of emergency on its borders
Crisis: The police and army said they will control a 30-mile stretch of the border to stop a 'massive' influx of migrants coming from Greece
Keeping order: Syrian migrant Amina Asmani (second right) watches a police officer secure the railway tracks before a train taking migrants towards Serbia enters the railway station in the southern Macedonian town of Gevgelija
Police hold back migrants waiting to board a train heading for Serbia at the railway station in the southern Macedonian town of Gevgelija
A police officer guards migrants waiting for a train heading towards Serbia at the railway station in the southern Macedonian town of Gevgelija
Migrants block the railway link between Greece and Macedonia in protest after the police closed the border near the Greek village of Idomeni
At the station, tempers flared at the ticket booths and in lines for temporary refugee papers on the garbage-filled platforms.
Men fought for space in the shadows to protect their families from the blazing sun. They pushed and shoved over a single water tap or electric sockets rented out by locals to charge mobile phones.
'People are very nervous because they have been waiting here for many hours,' said Najip Zazal from Afghanistan, as he took up a position for the rush toward the next train.
'It's scorching sun and there are no facilities here even for children or sick people. We have been walking the whole night to get here.'
Most migrants walk over the border from Greece on rusty train tracks that lead them straight to the drab station, whose peeling yellow paint shows it has not seen a renovation since Macedonia was part of communist Yugoslavia before the 1990s.
The station has become one of the major trouble spots on migrant routes in Europe, like the Greek island of Kos or the French port of Calais.
Migrants arrive in a rubber dinghy on the beach at Psalidi near Kos Town on the Greek island of Kos in a desperate bid to reach Europe
Terrified: A Syrian migrant holds a girl in his arms upon arriving on a dinghy on the Greek island of Kos after fleeing their war-torn country
A Syrian child from Kobane cries as she arrives on a beach on the Greek island of Kos after making the perilous journey across sea in a dinghy
Migrant routes: Situated as it is in the heart of eastern Europe, Macedonia sees migrants arrive from various locations - with the majority arriving via land through Bulgaria and Turkey having fled war torn nations
When they walk into the Gevgelija station, the exhausted migrants are greeted by vendors who charge them double for bottled water than the shops just around the corner.
They also sell fruit – €1 ($1.12) for a single banana or an apple. It's €2 ($2.25) to charge a mobile phone.
'They are ripping us off, but what can you do when you feel like you are going to die of thirst or hunger?' said Fadil, a Syrian who gave only his first name. 'All we want is to get on this damn train and leave this nightmare behind.'
But that is not easy. There are only three regular trains a day running on the 100-mile route to the border, where the migrants again have to walk to Serbia.
And the trains have only two carriages that can pack a maximum of 150 people each.
This week, some 3,000 migrants were stranded at the Gevgelija station. Last week, police arrested three Syrians as angry crowds threw stones, bottles and shoes at police attempting to restore order at the station.
Migrants pray on the beach after landing near Kos Town on the Greek island of Kos, from where they hope to head for the mainland
Migrants sleep on the ground at the port on Kos as Greece struggles with a major influx of migrants at the height of the tourist season
Fleeing hell: Syrian men run past blood stains and debris following air strikes by government forces on the rebel-held town of Douma. The conflict has forced thousands of Syrians to escape the country in the hope of starting a new life in Europe
Syrian emergency personnel extinguish fires in the rubble of destroyed buildings following air strikes by government forces on the rebel-held town of Douma. Human Rights Watch urged the United Nations to impose an arms embargo on the Syrian government after air strikes on the Eastern Ghouta region town near the capital Damascus killed more than 100 people
Several migrants have been injured in clashes with police who have been trying to stem the rush on trains by allowing only small groups, mainly families with small children, to board.
Families are often split in the chaos.
A boy in a red T-shirt frantically paced along the platform, shouting 'Mama! Mama!' when he and his small curly-haired sister found themselves alone in front of the train - their parents blocked by police meters away.
A woman in a black scarf sat on the pavement, desperately crying as she told the officers that her sister and brother were on the other side of the cordon.
Obad, a 20-year-old migrant from Syria, said he and his traveling companions are not bothered by the chaos - because they have survived much worse.
'We are not afraid of anything,' he said. 'We escaped from dying.'
NO END IN SIGHT: MIGRANTS FACE RAZOR WIRE, ARSON AND DEATH IF THEY MAKE IT THROUGH MACEDONIA
After fleeing war, dodging armed guards and risking death crossing choppy seas in a dinghy, the latest group of migrants must have felt pretty relieved to have reached northern Greece.
That is until they were faced with tear gas, stun grenades and a dangerous crush to board overcrowded trains.
Even if they do eventually make it into Macedonia and beyond, their torturous journey is far from over.
Hostility will face them at almost every turn.
A refugee child from Palestine sleeps next to their father outside the reception centre for refugees and asylum-seekers in Berlin
Hundreds of migrants wait outside of the reception centre for refugees and asylum-seekers in Berlin. Germany has been largely welcoming to the tens of thousands of refugees arriving each month but the attacks on them and on areas housing them have been on the rise
Even Hungary, the first country in the Schengen zone which gives free passage across the borders of 26 EU countries, is racing to build a fence along its border with Serbia to keep the migrants out.
And Bulgaria has already taken measures to erect a barrier that will cover 160km of its border with Turkey.
If they press onwards to Germany, they will also find escalating tensions in a country that is braced to host some 800,000 asylum seekers this year.
Berlin police today said they had arrested three suspects in connection with a failed arson attack on a home for asylum seekers.
Detectives say a watchman at the temporary housing unit in Berlin's Marzahn neighborhood saw a group in dark clothing throw burning wood into the compound just before midnight. A resident was able to extinguish the fire quickly.
Anger: A group of 20 refugees chased down the man who reportedly damaged the Muslim holy book at a refugee centre in Germany
Germany has been largely welcoming to the tens of thousands of refugees arriving each month but the attacks on them and on areas housing them have been on the rise.
At least 17 people were injured yesterday when a riot broke out at an overcrowded refugee shelter after one resident tore pages out of a Koran.
He was eventually saved by the shelter's guards which prompted the mob - according to local media mainly Syrian men - to turn their anger on the camp's security team.
More than 50 men armed themselves with steel rods and began throwing rocks at guards and policemen.
For those who go further north, Calais awaits – a town where migrants say conditions are so appalling they would rather die trying to escape it and sneak into Britain by jumping onto trucks and Eurotunnel trains.
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