Europe

Greek Police Arrest 5 Suspected Arsonists In Refugee Camp Fire

The suspects are reportedly migrants whose asylum applications were rejected.

Greek Police Arrest 5 Suspected Arsonists In Refugee Camp Fire
Petros Giannakouris / AP
SMS

Greek police have arrested five migrants suspected of purposefully starting a massive fire at Europe's largest refugee camp last week. The country's citizen protection minister said authorities are still looking for one suspect. 

Police sources say the suspected arsonists are migrants whose asylum applications were rejected. Local media reports all of the suspects were from Afghanistan. Afghans make up most of the population of the camp.

The camp on the island of Lesbos was home to some 13,000 migrants. The U.N. set up a new tent camp, but that's sparked a new wave of protests from both migrants and residents of the island.

Many Lesbos residents want migrants transferred to the mainland, describing the current living situation as "concentration camps" for asylum seekers.