The man, believed to be Moroccan, was among some 1,500 people,
mostly from Pakistan, Iran and Morocco, stuck near the northern
Greek border town of Idomeni, demanding to cross into neighboring
non-EU Macedonia and then on to northern Europe.
His badly burnt body was lying next to railway lines, a Reuters
witness said. Earlier, Macedonian police fired tear gas at
protesting migrants who pelted them with stones.
Overwhelmed by hundreds of thousands of people streaming into Europe
this year, Balkan states began blocking passage last month to all
but Syrians, Iraqis and Afghans, who are regarded as refugees
because they are fleeing conflict.
Macedonia has erected a metal fence to keep others out.
Violence broke out on Saturday after another man, also believed to
be Moroccan, was badly burned when he climbed on top of a train
wagon and was electrocuted.
Several hundred migrants blocked the crossing for refugees in
protest late on Wednesday, shouting: "If we don't cross, no one
does!"
While deaths at sea are common, Thursday's death was the first
casualty at the Greek-Macedonian land border. More than 3,000 people
have drowned trying to reach Europe on packed, flimsy boats this
year. Many more bodies are never recovered.
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The Greek government says it is trying to persuade the those stuck
at the border in squalid camps and in near-freezing temperatures, to
come to Athens and apply for asylum in Greece, saying there was
accommodation available for them.
(Reporting by Alexandros Avramidis; Writing by Karolina Tagaris;
Editing by Paul Taylor)
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