Macedonia to allow 'vulnerable' migrants to cross border

Macedonia said Friday it would allow a limited number of "vulnerable" migrants to enter the country, after it sealed its border with Greece to them, leaving thousands of refugees stuck in no-man's land.

"A limited number of illegal migrants in vulnerable categories are allowed to enter Macedonia and they may be provided aid in accordance with the state's capacities," the Interior Ministry said in a statement.

It did not say what the vulnerable categories were.

Police issued temporary transit documents to 181 migrants, mostly from Syria, Bangladesh and Pakistan, wanting to cross the small Balkan country on their way to northern Europe in the last 24 hours, the statement said.

Before Macedonia declared a state of emergency on its southern border on Thursday it was issuing an average of 1,300 such documents a day, it added.

More than 41,000 migrants have been processed by police crossing the border since June 19.

More than 3,000 mostly Syrian refugees are stuck in no-man's land near the Greek village of Edomeni in a standoff with police and troops sent by Skopje to help stem the flow of migrants attempting to cross the frontier.