A fire that ripped through an overcrowded migrant camp on the Greek island of Samos has forced hundreds of refugees to spend the night on the streets.

Around 600 people had to sleep rough after a blaze destroyed several tents and containers at Vathy.

The fire was preceded by a mass brawl between Afghan and Syrian residents of the camp.

Police and firefighters were called in Monday night as clashes, which had started in the afternoon at the center of Samos town, spread to Vathy.

At least three people were treated for stab wounds.

Pasha, an Iranian refugee and camp resident said: "We saw a lot of shooting from the police to control the chaos but they couldn't."

The international medical charity, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is supporting the local hospital by providing interpreters, relief items and emergency psychological aid.

MSF field coordinator in Samos Eirini Papanastasiou said: "In Vathy camp, some 6,000 people are crammed into a compound designed for just 650, where they live in dreadful conditions. Half are women and children. The majority are living in makeshift tents with no regular access to toilets or showers.

"These events are a direct outcome of the European policies that continue to trap people in undignified and unsafe conditions on the Greek islands. The Greek and European authorities must urgently transfer all vulnerable people to safe and appropriate accommodation elsewhere."

Vathy is a transit camp for refugees where applications are processed for people seeking asylum in the European Union.

The Greek islands in the Aegean Sea, near the Turkish coast, have borne the brunt of a refugee exodus which worsened in 2015 when more than a million landed on the shores of Europe, fleeing conflict and poverty in the Middle East, Africa and Asia.

Despite Athens announcing a more stringent asylum policy, including plans to deport some migrants by the end of 2019, the new measures have helped little to stem arrivals and ease overcrowding in camps across the country.

CGTN Europe visited Samos to find out more about the state of refugee children on the island.