Syrian refugees have turned Lesbos into a war zone, residents claim, as migrants chant 'f*** you' at Hungarian police amid fears ISIS is using the crisis to enter Europe

  • Greek islanders describe their fear after 20,000 refugees arrived on Lesbos
  • One in five people on the island is a refugee - the vast majority from Syria 
  • News comes as video showed refugees clashing with Hungarian police
  • Swear and attack officers while chanting the Islamic slogan 'Allahu Akbar'
  • Meanwhile two men suspected of being ISIS fighters have been arrested in Europe after they uploaded photos showing them hiding among refugees

Residents living on Lesbos have described the Greek island as a 'war zone' following the arrival of 20,000 mainly Syrian refugees over the past few weeks.

The daily arrivals mean that desperate refugees currently make up one in every five people on the island, which lies just a few miles from the Turkish mainland, across the Mytilini Strait.

Locals have accused the refugees of bringing Lesbos to a standstill, overwhelming the local infrastructure and leaving residents feeling so threatened that many of them have stopped leaving the house to go to work and are no longer sending their children to school. 

The news comes as two men suspected of being ISIS terrorists were arrested in an unspecified eastern European country after after intelligence groups noticed they had started uploading photographs taken in cities hit by the refugee crisis to their social media pages.

Gathered:  Lesbos residents have described the Greek island as a 'war zone' following the arrival of 20,000 mainly Syrian refugees over the past few weeks. Pictured, refugees sit by a fire at the port of Mitylene

Gathered: Lesbos residents have described the Greek island as a 'war zone' following the arrival of 20,000 mainly Syrian refugees over the past few weeks. Pictured, refugees sit by a fire at the port of Mitylene

A policeman pushes refugees behind a barrier at Greece's Macedonian border, near the village of Idomeni

A policeman pushes refugees behind a barrier at Greece's Macedonian border, near the village of Idomeni

The news comes as tensions were raised across Europe, which is struggling to come to terms with its worst refugee crisis in 70 years.

Refugees chanted Islamic slogans and shouted 'f**k you' during clashes with Hungarian police last week, it was claimed, as tensions over the migrant crisis continue to grow across Europe.

Amateur video published on LiveLeak shows a crowd charging at police outside Keleti train station in eastern Budapest, with refugees purportedly shouting 'Allahu Akbar' and swearing at officers.

The footage was shot last Friday when tens of thousands of mainly Syrian refugees were still being blocked from boarding trains bound for western Europe by Hungarian police, and before nations such as Germany and Britain agreed to allow hundreds of thousands of refugees to settle.

And this morning Russia Today reported that two men suspected of being terrorists linked to ISIS were arrested after sneaking into an unspecified European country while posing as refugees.

The extremists were allegedly only identified after the pair uploaded photographs to social media showing that they had arrived in Europe.

Tense: Amateur video published on LiveLeak shows a crowd charging at police outside Keleti train station in eastern Budapest, with refugees purportedly shouting 'Allahu Akbar' and swearing at officers

Tense: Amateur video published on LiveLeak shows a crowd charging at police outside Keleti train station in eastern Budapest, with refugees purportedly shouting 'Allahu Akbar' and swearing at officers

Migrants hold up their train tickets to show them to Hungarian police officers at Keleti railway station in Budapest while trying to board a train bound for Vienna, Austria

Migrants hold up their train tickets to show them to Hungarian police officers at Keleti railway station in Budapest while trying to board a train bound for Vienna, Austria

'Islamist terrorists, disguised as refugees, have showed up in Europe. [The] pictures were uploaded on various social networks to show that terrorists are now present in most European cities. Many, who are now illegal immigrants, fought alongside Islamic State before,' Hungary's M1 news reported.

There are also unverified reports from Italy, France and Germany of locals clashing with refugees. 

Clashes with police officers are now a daily occurrence on Lesbos as frustrated refugees living in squalid conditions eager to leave the island for the Greek mainland, from where they can board packed trains bound for eastern and eventually western Europe.

Officials abiding by EU law insist that the refugees remain on the island until they have been formally registered and given travel documents - a long process that has led to many men, women and children fainting as they wait in line for days in the blistering heat without food or water.

As a result, tensions frequently boil over, with locals claiming that they are now being targeted. 

'We are in danger, every day, every minute. We need someone to protect us. They come into our houses. I want to go to work, but I can't. Our children want to go to school, but they can't. They have stolen our lives!,' one female Lesbos resident told German radio station RTL, according to Breitbart

A man points to family members he was separated from as he asks for passage through a Hungarian police line while attempting to board a train bound for Vienna, Austria at Budapest's Keleti railway station

A man points to family members he was separated from as he asks for passage through a Hungarian police line while attempting to board a train bound for Vienna, Austria at Budapest's Keleti railway station

Refugees from Pakistan and Bangladesh arrive on Kos after crossing the sea between Turkey and Greece

Refugees from Pakistan and Bangladesh arrive on Kos after crossing the sea between Turkey and Greece

Refugees sleep at the port of Mitylene on the northeast Greek island of Lesbos earlier this morning

Refugees sleep at the port of Mitylene on the northeast Greek island of Lesbos earlier this morning

TORY MP CLAIMS PEOPLE ARE PRETENDING TO BE SYRIAN TO CLAIM ASYLUM IN EUROPE

Refugees granted asylum in Britain are going back to the country they fled for holidays, a Tory MP claimed today.

Adam Holloway complained he had been unable to get his hair cut because his barber had returned to his home country.

And he hit out at refugees who have reached safe countries embarking on dangerous journeys to reach mainland Europe.

In a Commons debate on the refugee crisis, Labour leadership contender Yvette Cooper led calls for Britain to take more than the 20,000 people David Cameron promised yesterday.

But Mr Holloway, Tory MP for Gravesham in Kent, said a clear message had to be sent to refugees that they cannot get into Europe 'through the back door'.

He claimed Germany and other European countries are 'completely bonkers' if they give ever-growing numbers of refugees and migrants the right to settle in Europe.

In a strident Commons speech, he said it is possible to be an economic migrant and a refugee - something campaigners have warned against confusing.

He also pointed to media reports suggesting Pakistanis, Afghans, Iraqis 'claim to be Syrians as well, because it is the Syrians who have the most valid claim to asylum'. 

Last week Greece's immigration minister said that Lesbos is 'on the verge of explosion' with the arrival of 20,000 mainly Syrian refugees pushing local resources to the limit.

A new processing centre was set up in Lesbos overnight to help officials deal with registrations.

As Athens warned of Lesbos being 'on the verge of explosion', tensions were also rising across the Aegean Sea where around 10,000 more people are stuck on islands as they make their way to Western Europe.

'It was horrible the last three days... There are no rooms, no hotels, no bathrooms, no beds, no anything,' said Hussam Hamzat, a 27-year-old engineer from Damascus who finally got his departure papers after an overnight wait.

At the latest flashpoint of the crisis, the Hungarian-Serbian border, several hundred migrants broke through police lines at the main frontier crossing overnight, forcing police to use pepper spray to move a group off a main road.

The migrants emerged from corn fields before making their way over the border and joining a column on the way to Budapest, although most want to make it eventually to Germany.

'We don't want to live any longer in the camps in Hungary or elsewhere, the conditions are horrible. It's too cold and everything is dirty, and it smells bad,' said a young man from Damascus.

This morning EU Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker unveiled a major plan to deal with the refugee crisis, as Greece and Hungary grappled with fresh flows of desperate people. 

Refugees sleep at the city of Mitylene on  Lesbos while waiting to get on board a ferry traveling to Athens

Refugees sleep at the city of Mitylene on Lesbos while waiting to get on board a ferry traveling to Athens

Syrian refugees keep warm around an open fire at Greece's border with Macedonia, near Idomeni village

Syrian refugees keep warm around an open fire at Greece's border with Macedonia, near Idomeni village

On their way: People make their way on the railway track at the border line between Serbia and Hungary

On their way: People make their way on the railway track at the border line between Serbia and Hungary

Juncker outlined plans for binding quotas that would share out 120,000 refugees across the bloc from swamped border states, as well as a more permanent system for a crisis that officials say will last for years.

Australia had earlier said it would take more people fleeing wars in Syria and Iraq, responding to calls from an increasingly strained Europe for the rest of the world to help shoulder the burden.

In his first EU State of the Union speech to the European Parliament, Juncker urged 'bold, determined action', saying, 'Now is not the time to take fright.'

The migrants' plight has touched hearts around the world, spurred especially by pictures last week of three-year-old Syrian Aylan Kurdi, whose lifeless body washed up on a Turkish beach.

Germany - which expects 800,000 asylum claims this year and has said it could take half a million refugees annually over several years - said the plan 'was an important first step', but warned against rigid ceilings.

Under the EU plan, Germany would take more than 31,000 migrants, France 24,000 and Spain almost 15,000. Australia, which has maintained a hard line on asylum-seekers, pledged Wednesday to take in 12,000. 

The comments below have been moderated in advance.

The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline.

By posting your comment you agree to our house rules.

Who is this week's top commenter? Find out now