Refugees urge pope to visit Idomeni border camp

BELGRADE, Serbia

A group of refugees in the Greek camp at Idomeni near the border with Macedonia urged Pope Francis on Saturday to also pay them a visit, amid his trip to a migrant center on the island of Lesbos.

The refugees held a silent demonstration near the railway line to Macedonia, which has been closed for over a month after the Balkan nation closed its borders to thousands of refugees trying to further their way into Europe.

"Pope, you are also welcome in Idomeni. Save us, or send us back to death," read banners held by the refugees.

This weekend the pope and two Greek Orthodox leaders are visiting the Moria camp on the Greek island of Lesbos, where thousands of refugees are being kept temporarily, and also paying tribute to the people who lost their lives at sea trying to cross from Turkey to Greece.

Pope Francis visited Lesbos on Saturday to meet with Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, Istanbul's Fener-Greek Patriarch Bartholomew, and Archbishop Ieronymos, head of the Greek Orthodox Church.

Also in Idomeni, another group of about 30 people tried to destroy the border fence erected by Macedonian Army.

The Macedonian police on the opposite side of the border verbally warned the angry refugees.

Last week twice Macedonian police fired teargas on refugees to stop them from crossing the border fence with Greece.

An estimated 11,000-plus refugees are at refugee camps in Idomeni, hoping to make their way to northern Europe despite the closed border.

Over the past year, hundreds of thousands have made short but perilous journeys in a bid to reach northern and western Europe in search of a better life.

Since the beginning of 2016 over 173,000 asylum seekers and refugees have crossed into Greece and Italy, according to the International Organization for Migration. Of the 173,761 people that have crossed the Mediterranean this year, 153,106 reached the Greek islands as of April 11, while 19,930 people landed in Italy. Another 648 people landed in Spain, while 27 others landed in Greek Cyprus.

During the same period, at least 723 people lost their lives trying to cross the Mediterranean, with the Eastern Mediterranean route between Turkey and Greece continuing to be the deadliest, accounting for 375 deaths. During the first three months in 2015, 505 people died on all the Mediterranean routes.