GREEK ISLAND GUSHES

Greek island on strike in protest against becoming migrant prison.

Athens : Residents on the Greek island of Lesbos went on strike on Monday to protest against European policies they say have turned it into a ''prison for migrants and refugees.

Islanders shut businesses, shops municipal offices and pharmacies and dozens rallied on a central square, calling on the government to transfer asylum-seekers to the mainland.

''Lesbos is not a place of exile,'' a banner read.

Just a few miles from Turkey coast, Lesbos has borne the brunt of Europe's migrant crisis .

In 2015, nearly a  million  people  -most fleeing Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan landed on its shores before heading north, mainly to Germany.

It is now hosting some  8,500 asylum-seekers in facilities designed to hold fewer than 3,000.

''Lesbos, is not an open prison, nor will we allow anyone to view it as such,'' Mayor Spyros Galinos was quoted as saying by Athens News Agency.

Thousands of  asylum seekers have become stranded on Lesbos and four other islands close to Turkey since the EU agreed to deal with Ankara in March 2016 to shut down the route through Greece -Agencies.