Greek island mayor warns of violence over migrant plan

The mayor of the Greek island of Kos on Sunday called on the government to abandon its plans to build a migrant registration centre as demanded by the EU, warning that local opposition could lead to "uncontrollable" protests.

"There is a present danger that we will mourn victims and be led to uncontrollable situations," Kos Mayor Yiorgos Kyritsis said in a letter to Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, made public by the state news agency ANA.

Three locals were hurt last week in a scuffle with riot police near the area chosen to build the migrant centre, including a journalist covering the protest, who was later detained.

The government reacted by sending extra riot police to the island, which Kyritsis said was a mistake.

"I call on the prime minister to order to withdraw the riot police units to de-escalate tension," he said.

A police union also criticised the move, claiming that units were facing angry islanders armed with hunting rifles and dynamite.

Under EU pressure to improve migrant controls at Greece's maritime borders with Turkey, Tsipras's government has pledged to complete centres on Kos and another four islands by mid-February.

The islands of Lesbos, Leros, Samos and Chios have accepted the challenge, but Kos authorities have been opposed from the start, arguing that the long-term presence of migrants will undermine the tourism industry that is the island's main source of income.

Kos officials have proposed creating a facility to register migrants but want them to leave the island immediately afterwards.

Government officials say the protests are being motivated by a minority on the island backed by far-right hardliners.

"The mayor is neither smarter nor a greater patriot than other mayors," Interior Minister Panagiotis Kouroublis told Real FM radio on Sunday.