Two asylum seekers commit suicide in Greece

Two asylum seekers in their 30s who were living in a hotel packed with refugees in northern Greece hanged themselves over Christmas, a charity says.

The two men, an Afghan father of two aged 32 or 33 and an Iraqi aged about 30, were found in the village of Mouries near the border with North Macedonia.

“We have terrible news from Mouries… two young men committed suicide yesterday and today,” the Greek Forum of Refugees says in a statement.

It said they had been living in a hotel housing between 350 and 400 refugees in Mouries.

The Afghan national was found on Wednesday hanging near a bridge not far from the hotel, while the Iraqi man was discovered by his roommate in one of the hotel corridors.

According to Greek authorities, more than 40,000 migrants and refugees are being held often in desperate conditions in camps on several Greek islands.

Greece was overwhelmed by the migrant crisis which erupted in 2015 with tens of thousands of people arriving after making perilous crossings in barely seaworthy vessels via neighboring Turkey.

Doctors Without Borders (MSF) has drawn attention to the particular plight of children in the Greek camps, and voiced fears that some are suicide risks.

— AFP