Migrants held in Greece

ATHENS: Greek police arrested around 100 people, mainly migrants, in dawn raids on Athens squats on Monday, part of a major police crackdown, state news agency ANA reported.

Dozens of officers evacuated four squats that had been occupied for several weeks, mainly by refugees and migrants, in the sensitive Exarcheia district of Athens. The new conservative government of Kyriakos Mitsotakis has vowed to bring "order" to the district, promising regular police patrols.

The neighbourhood has often been the site of clashes between anarchists and police, particularly since 2008, when a police officer shot dead a teenager, sparking days of rioting. The new mayor of Athens, who was sworn in on Sunday, has pledged to make security his top priority. Costas Bakoyannis has accused the previous leftist government of having take a soft line against vandalism carried out by some anarchist groups.