Fire near Greece's Samos migrant camp under control, three detained

A new makeshift camp has come up on the Greek island of Lesbos after fire displaced nearly 800 of the thousands of asylum seekers at a migrant camp (ANGELOS TZORTZINIS / AFP)

Greek authorities have brought under control a fire that broke out near a migrant camp on the northeastern Aegean island of Samos late on Tuesday, fire brigade and police officials said.

The fire, which broke out at a forest near the camp, did not threaten its facilities, a fire brigade official said on Wednesday.

The cause of the fire near the registration centre that hosts about 4,700 migrants was still unclear. Three migrants are being detained as part of an investigation into the incident, a police official said.

A fire razed Greece's largest refugee camp on the island of Lesbos last week, forcing more than 12,000 people on to the streets and bringing the long-running migrant crisis on Europe's border back up the political agenda. 

More from International

  • Pakistan sectarian fighting restarts, breaking truce

    Sectarian fighting in northwestern Pakistan which killed more than 80 people last week restarted on Monday, officials said, breaching a seven-day brokered ceasefire.

  • Judge dismisses Trump election subversion case

    A US judge on Monday dismissed the federal criminal case accusing Donald Trump of attempting to overturn his 2020 election defeat after prosecutors moved to drop that case and a second case against the president-elect, citing Justice Department policy against prosecuting a sitting president.

  • Trump pledges new tariffs on Canada, Mexico, and China

    US President-elect Donald Trump on Monday pledged a 25 per cent tariff on all products from Mexico and Canada from his first day in office, and an additional 10 per cent tariff on goods from China, citing illegal immigration and the trade of illicit drugs.

  • Israel says it's moving towards Lebanon ceasefire

    Israel is moving towards a ceasefire in the war with Hezbollah but there are still issues to address, its government said on Monday, while two senior Lebanese officials voiced guarded optimism of a deal soon even as Israeli strikes pounded Lebanon.

  • 15 Turkish-backed fighters killed by Kurdish forces in Syria

    At least 15 Ankara-backed Syrian fighters were killed on Sunday after Kurdish-led forces infiltrated their territory in the country’s north, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor said.