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Greece has begun evacuating thousands of stranded migrants from the makeshift Idomeni camp on its northern border with Macedonia, writes the BBC.

According to the source, the operation began at dawn and witnesses reported police vehicles and buses standing by to transfer people to better organised facilities.

Hundreds of riot police have been deployed to the camp where at least 8,400 people - many of them women and children live. Officials say force will not be used. The refugees have been promised much better facilities at newly-created asylum processing centres near Greece's second city Thessaloniki.

The Greek authorities have tried for weeks to transfer people from Idomeni to formal camps. But many refugees have been reluctant to leave because some still hope that the border will reopen; others intend to cross with the help of smugglers; and still more are frightened of being locked inside hurriedly finished government-run centres.