Migrants clash with police and cut through a fence at a Greek detention center

ATHENS (AP) — Migrants clashed with police at a detention center in northern Greece and cut through a perimeter fence, with 35 escaping before authorities recaptured about half of them, officials said Sunday.

Greece is a key entry point for migrants into Europe, and migration is a hot-button issue in the country. Greece’s conservative government has been toughening its migration policies.

Police reinforcements were called late Saturday to the temporary accommodation center for asylum seekers in Sintiki, a few kilometers (miles) from the Bulgarian border, after migrants threw rocks at guards, according to police.

The facility houses around 450 people who are placed there while their asylum applications are processed, which can be a protracted procedure.

Police special forces responded with flash grenades during the clashes, which officials said lasted until the early hours of Sunday.

Police said they arrested 17 of the migrants who had escaped, while searches continued for around 18 others. An additional five were injured and taken to hospital.