ATHENS – Main opposition Syriza party on Wednesday criticized Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis for the clashes that occurred on Lesvos and Chios against the soon-to-be-built refugee detention facilities, saying that “he is calling for dialogue now, after first turning the islands into a war zone,” in reference to inviting local authorities to Maximos Mansion on Thursday.

The party announcement called on Mitsotakis “to permanently abandon the dangerous choice of violence and authoritarianism, before his obsession leads to casualties.”

Syriza also said that the prime minister “is solely responsible for this chaos” and stressed that “the only realistic solution is dialogue, decongestion of the islands and fair sharing of the burdens of the migration crisis with local authorities, in a spirit of solidarity.”