Athens, September 8 (RHC)-- New clashes have erupted between Greek police and stranded refugees on the flash-point island of Lesbos in Greece, where extra security staff have been deployed to calm the situation.

Authorities said the scuffles broke out on Monday night between the security forces armed with batons and the refugees, who were trying to board a government-chartered ship bound for the Greek capital, Athens.

The Greek government and the United Nations' refugee agency have reportedly sent in extra staff and ships to deal with some 25,000 refugees bogged down on the island. Lesbos is one of the several Greek islands where refugees headed for Western Europe land after setting sail from the nearby Turkish coast.

Greece has asked the European Union to help Athens deal with the huge flow of refugees as arrivals on Lesbos have swollen to three times as many as the island could handle.