Faced with the influx of migrants on its doorstep, Greece on "maximum" alert

Text by: RFI Follow

This Sunday, March 1, Greece was placed on "maximum" alert to protect its borders, where thousands of migrants from Turkey flock.

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The level of protection of the Greek borders is now at its maximum. Athens has decided to strengthen patrols at the country's maritime and land borders. " Do not try to enter Greece illegally, you will be turned back, " Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis warned on Twitter after a crisis meeting devoted to the mass arrival of migrants from Turkey . The head of the Greek government also announced that no new asylum applications will be accepted for a month.

On the Aegean islands, around 700 arrivals by boat were counted this Sunday, including more than 400 in Lesbos. On this island which shelters the camp of Moria , where more than 20,000 people live in unworthy conditions, the tension was particularly palpable.

Clashes in Lesbos

After the arrival of dozens of migrants on Skala Sykamineas beach, 150 inhabitants of the island gathered around a reception center for migrants located nearby, before setting it on fire. Even though the center, formerly run by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), had been closed in late January, they feared it would reopen.

Residents of Lesbos were trying to prevent migrants from landing on the island. Greece said on Sunday that it had blocked nearly 10,000 migrants on its border with Turkey opened the doors of Europe to migrants. Aris MESSINIS / AFP

Earlier, when cries of "return to Turkey", the inhabitants of the island prevented about fifty migrants, including several children, from docking with their canoe after several hours at sea. In the port of Thermi, some launched insults to the local representative of the UNHCR, others attacked journalists and photographers, hitting them and throwing cameras overboard, reports Agence France-Presse.

On the road to Moria camp, another group of residents with chains and stones tried to prevent the police buses carrying asylum seekers, who arrived on Sunday, from accessing the reception and reception center. recording, says the Greek news agency ANA.

Seeking Western support for his military offensive in Syria against the Damascus regime, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan opened the doors of Europe to migrants. This Sunday, thousands were flocking towards the border with Greece. Saturday evening, the United Nations had identified 13,000 migrants massed along the 212 km of border between the two countries, which borders the Evros river. According to a Greek government source cited by AFP, the authorities blocked the entry of 15,500 migrants along the Evros river within 24 hours.

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• Greece
• Turkey
• International Migration

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