Turkey: new influx of migrants on the Greek border

Text by: RFI Follow

At least 2,000 additional migrants arrived on Sunday March 1 at the Greek border to try to cross to Europe, after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced the opening of the borders by Turkey.

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Syrians, Afghans and Iraqis, they all come from Istanbul. Among them, women and children. Migrants walk in single file through fields towards the border post of Pazarkule, Kastanies on the Greek side. 2,000 additional people wish to leave Turkey to reach Western Europe.

In total, some 15,000 migrants flocked along the Greek-Turkish border. One consequence of threats by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to let out refugees wanting to go to Europe.

This Saturday, the teams of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) follow the population movement from Istanbul and provide aid to the most vulnerable among them.

" Fragile and exposed "

" The number of migrants coming from Edirne to cross the border increases during the day as cars, taxis and buses arrive in Istanbul, " said the head of mission. IOM Turkish, Lado Gvilava. Most are men, but we also see families with young children . "

IOM distributes food, as well as basic supplies, but with the sometimes freezing temperatures, the head of the UN agency said he was " concerned about these fragile and exposed people. "

Erdogan: " We are not going to close the doors "

Turkey opened its migration borders with Europe on Friday 28 February. It seeks to force the European Union to support it in its showdown with Russia in Syria . " What did we do yesterday?" We opened the doors. We are not going to close the doors, "said Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday.

On the border between Turkey and Greece, the situation was tense on Saturday, with scuffles between Greek police officers firing tear gas canisters and migrants throwing stones. By 2015, Greece had become the main gateway to Europe for hundreds of thousands of migrants, most of them fleeing the Syrian conflict, until the migration agreement signed between the European Union and Turkey.

► Read also: Anti-migrant protests continue on the Greek islands

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• Turkey
• Greece
• International Migration
• European Union

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