The immigrants were transferred to the camp after they were arrested early morning in the context of a sweep operation code-named “Xenios Zeus”.

Amid local protests to the former barracks of the 6th Infantry Regiment in Corinth being used as a migrant detention centre, supporters of Golden Dawn clashed with police in an attempt to block them from entering the camp with arrested illegal immigrants.

In a statement issued by the party it said it opposed military facilities being used as “tourism centers for illegal immigrants.”

Golden Dawn MP Ilias Kasidiaris stressed that the only possible solution to the issue of illegal immigration is deportation.

ANA reported the protest was led by Golden Dawn MP Efstathios Boukouras, who placed himself in front of a truck carrying migrants.

Nearly 11,000 undocumented immigrants have been brought to the Corinth military camp since the beginning of August, according to Kathimerini, adding that almost 2,000 of those people have been arrested.

Meanwhile, local Mayor Alekos Pnevmatikos also objected  the transfer of the migrants to the army camp. According to To Vima, the Corinth Municipality cut off the camp’s water supply and is refusing to collect its garbage.

A municipal council meeting took place late last night to discuss the issue, with episodes continuing outside between Golden Dawn members and police.

An estimated 100,000 people from Asia, Africa and the Middle East pass though Greece to reach the European Union every year. But anti-immigrant sentiment is growing as Greece faces a major economic crisis.

The 19-year-old died in hospital on Sunday after being repeatedly stabbed near an unofficial mosque in Anaxagora Street in central Athens by a gang of five people riding four motorcycles, police officials said.

The gang had earlier tried to assault a Romanian and a Moroccan national before the attack, but the pair managed to escape, witnesses told police.

“Such attacks are unacceptable and the authorities must do all within their power to stem their rise,” said Jezerca Tigani, Deputy Europe and Central Asia Programme Director at Amnesty International.

Attacks by unidentified groups and individuals against foreign nationals and places of worship have also been reported in the past week in Athens, Pireus, Crete and other towns.

In one attack last Thursday in Pireus, flares were reportedly thrown into a prayer room for Muslim worshippers by some 15 members of an extreme right-wing group riding motorcycles as 10 migrants were praying inside. 

There are no official mosques in Greece. Muslim worshippers pray in rooms, flats, warehouses, and any space that can be turned into a praying room. So far, plans to build official mosques have failed.

Two Pakistani nationals were taken to hospital after being beaten by a group of unknown men who entered their house in Vonitsa in Western Greece last Sunday evening.

Two Egyptian nationals also told the organization in July that they were attacked by around 20 members of an extreme right-wing group as they slept in a house in Pireus with four fellow nationals. One of the two men, a young fisherman, had to have two operations on his face and remained in hospital for days after the incident. Five men and a woman were arrested after the attack.

“The number of attacks is worrying and it shows how much rage and hate there is in the society. It is time for the Greek society to stand up against such shameful attacks and reassert its condemnation of racial and ethnic hatred,” said Jezerca Tigani.

The attack against the Iraqi man on Sunday came days after Amnesty International called on the Greek authorities to halt a police crackdown launched last week on “irregular immigrants”, in which more than 8,000 foreign nationals were arrested in the Greek capital. Of those, 1,660 individuals were found to be without official documentation and were placed in administrative detention, according to Greek police today.

“Recent police operations against immigrants have raised serious concerns that people may be discriminated against on the basis of their perceived ethnicity, and such actions fuel xenophobic sentiment.”

Amnesty International, while recognizing the Greek authorities’ right to control immigration, has previously stated they “do not have the right to treat people in the street like criminals purely because of the colour of their skin”.

“Greek authorities must prioritize and build up the confidence of minorities and foreign nationals in the ability of the authorities to protect them from the threat of racist violence by sending a strong message to all those who carry out these attacks – they will not be tolerated and will be fully and vigorously investigated, with perpetrators brought to justice,” said Jezerca Tigani.

Of those arrested, 1,130 did not meeting the legal conditions for residency in Greece, while 52 house searches were also conducted.

Citizens’ Protection minister Nikos Dendias told a press conference on Saturday that “today is a good day for Greek Police, regarding both the smooth development of the major ‘Xenios Zeus’ operation and the success in solving the “hideous crime on Paros, ” referring to a 21-year-old Pakistani national, who was taken in for questioning early Saturday  after he confessed the brutal sexual assault of a 15-year-old girl, found seriously injured on July 23 on a beach on the island of Paros.

“There are no racial criteria, we do not care about the color, nationality or religion of the illegal immigrants. Our only criterion is the observance of legality with absolute respect to the human rights,” Dendias said.

SYRIZA expressed its disagreement to any kind of “pogroms” against migrants that “offend human nature and human rights,” referring to the police operation “Xenios Zeus” launched at the center of Athens.

“The government, in its final attempt to hide its real person behind grandiose expressions and trivial communication tricks, underestimates common sense and people’s intelligence, as well as what is left from our culture,” said MP Dimitris Tsoukalas, commenting the code name of the Police operation; he wondered if PASOK and Democratic Left are involved in this planning.

The operation is set to continue in central Athens on Monday in the environs of Omonoia Square, Monastiraki, Vathys Square and the Pedion tou Areos park vicinity, accoridng to ANA.

Greece is an  entry point to about 80 percent of Europe’s illegal immigrants, and many Greeks are starting to resent their presence at a time of high unemployment and cuts in social services. To make matters worse, the capital, Athens, is experiencing a rise in violent crime — a problem that’s also being blamed on the immigrants.

On Wednesday police said they were tripling the number of guards along Greece’s border with Turkey to 1,800 to ward off any influx of Syrian refugees, AFP reported.

Current figures show Greece has about 800,000 legally-registered immigrants, while the number of those without papers is estimated at more than 350,000.

Events came after the funeral of 30 year old Thanassis Lazanas who was murdered by three young Afghans on Saturday, according to Patrastimes.gr

Approximately 150 members of the Golden Dawn, who reportedly, joined an anti-immigrant protest rally with organized by residents of Patras for Thanasis Lazanas. Dressed in black with helmets and holding batons and flags members of Golden Dawn lined against the police forces outside the old factory in an attempt to storm the abandoned factory with the immigrants. Residents asked the police not to stop them and let them storm the factory to evict migrants. Shortly after 8 pm the fighting broke out with  police responding with tear gas. Protesters attempted to invade the building at least three times, according to To Vima.

The murder of the 30 year old man as residents of Patras say was the straw that broke the camel on the situation that has developed in the large number of illegal immigrants. There is a growing concern by the citizens of Patras, that an increased number of illegal immigrants will loiter around the new port, according to Ta Nea.  They are afraid that crime may increase in their neighborhoods and therefore they had decided to set up a citizens patrol in the area since last December.

In an announcement by the official website of Golden Dawn, which came during the incidents, said: “The police and riot police instead of applying the law and  clear the area of illegal immigrants, they have attacked residents in Patras with tear gas, and have  arrested residents of Patras and members of Golden Dawn “.

The episodes have left seven civilians and three policemen injured.

According to Greek media reports, the second temporary detention or so “closed hospitality centers”, is going to start operating near the small town of Deskati, in the northern prefecture of Grevena, after the May 6 elections.

Local residents are open to the project however, unlike residents in Amygdaleza, according Deskati Mayor Nikos Migos. “The local community does not only believe that the center will not be a problem but that it will bring us significant benefits,” Migos told Kathimerini, referring that  the facility would create 150 police jobs, 350 more jobs for guards and another 350 in other sector

Meanwhile, in a new statement to address illegal immigration, Mr. Chrysohoidis announced on Tuesday that it will raid apartments, mainly in central Athens, where thousands of undocumended immigrants live in overcrowded and unhygienic conditions. The minister warned that property owners of these overcrowded apartments of sometimes “30 or 50 people in crammed spaces of 50 to 100 square meters” illigal immigrants will be arrested.

On radio, Minister of Citizen Protection said that “Athens will BE clear in a few days, today or tomorrow  we will announce that the apartments in which undocumented immigrants live en masse will be empty and the owners prosecuted.”