IDOMENI/ATHENS: Dozens of people were hurt Sunday when police fired tear gas at hundreds of migrants as they tried to break through the Greek-Macedonia frontier, where over 11,000 people are stranded.

It was the latest violence to erupt at the flashpoint Idomeni crossing, where huge numbers of migrants and refugees have been camped out since mid-February after Balkan states closed their borders, cutting off access to northern Europe.

Macedonian police accused the crowds of hurling stones and other objects at them in a bid to break down the fence, saying they had used tear gas to protect themselves.

Police used tear gas on a crowd of more than 500 people who had gathered at the fence at the makeshift camp of Idomeni. A Greek police source said there was tension in the area but declined to comment further.

The incident took place near the Idomeni border crossing in northern Greece, a flashpoint where more than 11,200 people have been stranded after Balkan states closed off the migrant route in mid-February.

More than 10,000 migrants and refugees have been living at the sprawling tent camp in Greece since February, stranded there after a cascade of border shutdowns throughout the Balkans.

A Greek police source said hundreds of migrants gathered to demand the opening of the frontier and tried to force the fence, prompting Macedonian police to fire tear gas.

Macedonian police confirmed the incident but said the tear gas had not come from their side.

“There are some incidents on the Greek side of the border. Greek police are using tear gas near the border with Macedonia. It is calm so far on the Macedonian side of the border,” a senior Macedonian police official told AFP.

The protest came after rumors in the squalid and overcrowded Idomeni camp that Macedonia was going to open the border. Similar rumors a fortnight ago also triggered an unsuccessful attempt to rush the fence.

Efforts by the Greek authorities to persuade migrants to leave Idomeni and move to nearby reception centers have not been successful, with many people preferring to stay put in the hope the border will be opened.

In late February, Macedonian police tear gassed some 300 migrants after they broke through a Greek police cordon and raced toward a railway track between the two countries, prompting the European Union to voice “concern” about heavy-handedness.

Sunday’s incident came a day after five people drowned off the Greek island of Samos, the first deaths in the Aegean Sea since a controversial EU-Turkey deal to stem the flow of refugees took effect three weeks ago.

A Macedonian official who asked to remain anonymous said that a large group of migrants left Idomeni camp in the morning and stormed toward the fence.

“They threw rocks at the Macedonian police. The police fired tear gas in response,” the official said.