ATHENS — The roughly 150 recognised refugees that have sought shelter at Athens' Victoria square will be temporarily transferred to the asylum-seekers' reception facilities at Skaramangas and Schisto, migration ministry sources said to the Athens-Macedonian News Agency on Monday.

In a post on social media after visiting Victoria Square during the operation for their transfer, Migration Minister Notis Mitarachi said that "all refugees have left Victoria square for temporary accommodation, thanks to the actions of the migration ministry's first reception service and Greek police." He also referred to efforts by activists, "who have come to the square to exploit human suffering in order to create certain impressions".

According to police, the operation for the refugees' transfer was incident-free and carried out using persuasion. However, he reported tension during the previous night provoked by activists opposed to police action to remove the foreign nationals from the square. Police detained 20 people during the incidents, of which four were later placed under arrest.