Anger in Greek camp over living conditions

A group of Afghan refugees in Greece protested against their living conditions on Monday by chanting "Liar!" as they tried to block a minister from entering the former Athens airport terminal where they have been stranded for months.

Children stuck inside the compound climbed up a metal gate while dozens of protesters pushed and shoved one another as they shouted "Go, Go!" at Migration Minister Yannis Mouzalas. One man handed him a crying child as he reached the chained gate.

Mouzalas said some of the protesters had tried to punch him, and accused a radical left-wing group of fomenting the demonstration.

About 1,600 refugees and migrants live at Hellenikon, a former airport complex that also houses abandoned venues used in the 2004 Olympic Games.

"We have a bad situation in this camp. It's like one year in jail," said an Afghan man who identified himself as Massoud.

Greece has long said it plans to clear out Hellenikon - which housed up to 3,000 refugees and migrants in scorching temperatures last summer - after agreeing to lease it to private investors under its bailout program. "Hellenikon must be cleared out," Mouzalas reiterated on Monday.

The protesters were demanding better food, better sanitation facilities and hot water.

"I completely understand their pain and hardship. We are trying to ease it as much as we can," Mouzalas said.

About 60,000 refugees and migrants have been in Greece for nearly a year after border shutdowns throughout the Balkans halted the onward journey many planned to take to central and western Europe.