Hundreds of migrants rushed to overrun Greece's overwhelmed Idomeni camp after rumours circulated that the sealed border with Macedonia was due to open.

Swathes of people descended on the camp as the Greek authorities tried to evacuate an estimated 11,500 people already stranded in its squalid conditions.

Pressure on the decrepit make-shift settlement has grown after Balkan states slammed shut their borders, cutting off the migrant route to the European Union.

About 250 people of all ages conveyed a message of peace as they gathered by the railway tracks and the border fence, singing and shouting slogans while they were watched by Greek police in riot gear.

Many elderly handicapped refugees were sitting in wheelchairs sobbing while many other people, who had dismantled their tents in order to be ready to cross the border quickly, were waving white handkerchiefs.

'No violence, we just want to cross,' read one banner, while another said: 'Freedom of movement is everybody's right.'

Some in the crowd, however, attempted to move towards the police line but were blocked by others who formed a human chain.

Source: AFP