The tiny Greek island of Kos, population 30,000, is seeing hundreds of illegal immigrants come ashore daily – and local police are turning to improvised weapons coupled with controversial crowd control techniques including sonic weapons to keep things under control.
One of the closest Greek islands to the Turkish mainland, Kos resembles an apparently attractive choice for illegal migrants attempting to cross into Europe – although the reality of Kos is quite different. Once renowned for blue seas, white sand beaches, and luxury resorts, the Kos is now a war-zone, with the small local police force struggling to adequately manage the situation which at present rates of arrivals would see the population double in little over month. Around 1,000 illegals cross the Aegean Sea from Turkey every day on their way to Greece.
They come at all hours. An estimated 1,000 illegals arrive on the Isle of Kos every day / ANGELOS TZORTZINIS/AFP/Getty Images
Herding illegals into a sports stadium to await processing, 2,500 were left in the scorching heat with no access to water, food, or toilets for nearly 24 hours as only three police officers were available to process paperwork, reports The Guardian. Aggravated, and presumably desperately disappointed that Europe isn’t the land of milk and honey they had been promised back home in warzone nations like Syria and Iraq, the illegals have grown restless, and what police there are have been involved in clashes while attempting to keep order.
Outside the football stadium, Greek police officers are forced to use fire extinguishers to rout a stampede trying get in / ANGELOS TZORTZINIS/AFP/Getty Images
Vivid images of desperate officers resorting to fire extinguishers and sticks to repel crowds have emerged this week, and now it is reported they were forced to deploy a ‘sonic bomb’ to the sports stadium yesterday. Although what sort of device was employed is unclear, these non-lethal crowd control devices range from sirens producing sound beyond the human pain threshold, to directed energy weapons which produce the sensation of the subjects skin being set alight with radio waves.
This is Europe now: thousands more illegal migrants crush outside the sports stadium in hope of being registered legally on the island, so they can begin to receive state handouts and start their lives as new Europeans / ANGELOS TZORTZINIS/AFP/Getty Images
Such devices remain controversial as while they are designed to be non-lethal, critics maintain they can cause lasting damage.
There isn’t enough food or water on the Island to support the new population – and locked inside the stadium without access to water for a day say the Doctors Without Borders (MSF) team there overwhelmed with cases of people collapsing from dehydration. The medical team withdrew from the area and stopped giving medical aid as the situation became more violent. A spokesman for MSF complained his team had no security, and there was no representatives from the United Nations refugee agency.