Hundreds of refugees moved from crisis-hit Dutch camp

Dutch authorities on Saturday said they have transferred hundreds of migrants and refugees from a makeshift camp outside an overcrowded asylum seeker reception center.

A spokesperson for the state migrant housing unit said the refugees were moved overnight from the facility, near the northern city of Groningen, to other locations in the Netherlands.

Some 150 people were taken to two sports halls in a central city a day earlier. 

Migrants slept rough for weeks

The relocation follows a damning report which said that the site, in the village of Ter Apel near the German border, was a health hazard.

More than 700 asylum seekers had been sleeping rough outside the center, many for almost three weeks.

Aid agencies and the country's healthcare auditor complained about the risk of infectious diseases at the makeshift camp as a result of a "total lack of hygiene."

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said he was "ashamed" about the overcrowding and on Friday night, his administration released a raft of measures aimed at easing a wider crisis at refugee holding centers.

The government said it was working with local municipalities to create more homes for people who are approved to stay in the country, which would free up space for new arrivals.

Migrant arrivals to be curbed

The new measures will temporarily restrict the arrival of migrants to the country, including those agreed under a 2016 European Union deal with Turkey.

Visas for family members of people who do not have housing in the Netherlands will also be halted.

Dutch troops have been instructed to create a second registration facility for asylum seekers on a military base.

The government has set a September 10 deadline to have all refugees living in proper shelters.

However, Rutte told a news conference that the overcrowding was "not something that can be solved in a few weeks or months."

He blamed a 2015 decision to reduce asylum capacity and a national housing shortage were aggravating the problem.

Dozens refuse to leave place in queue

While most of the refugees forced to camp out have now left Ter Apel, Dutch newspapers reported Saturday that dozens of men stayed behind, out of fear of losing their place in the queue.

Many Dutch towns and cities have offered places to Ukrainians who fled the war in their country.

But the positive reception for refugees from other countries has worn thin.

Most people heading to Ter Apel for processing are Syrians fleeing their nation's grinding civil war.

Refugee advocates drew comparisons with overcrowded camps in Greece and Italy that house migrants and refugees who have just landed on European soil.

This week, the Doctors Without Borders charity sent a medical team to Ter Apel, its first deployment to the Netherlands.

Their arrival followed the death of a 3-month-old baby at the shelter, which drew international concern.

The baby died of unknown causes in a sports hall used as a makeshift shelter for newcomers with nowhere else to sleep, according to Dutch authorities.

mm/kb (AFP, AP, dpa, Reuters)