The EU is on ‘high alert’ after more than 30,000 migrants at Turkey’s border with Greece and Bulgaria pelted guards with stones and tried to cut through the wire fences.
Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said 18,000 migrants have already crossed into Europe, with the number expected to reach 25,000 to 30,000 in the coming days.
Greek police closed their border crossing yesterday and lined up to fire tear gas at large groups, while pregnant women and children were among those making hazardous crossings to the Greek islands. Bulgaria also locked down its southern border and deployed soldiers and military vehicles to patrol its 118-mile frontier with Turkey.
The European border force Frontex said this morning it was on ‘high alert’ and had stationed staff along both borders and in the Greek islands.
The surge of migrants comes as President Erdogan announced he had ‘opened the doors’ following the killing of 33 Turkish troops in Northern Syria by the Russian-backed Assad regime. There was no immediate criticism from European nations, but the US said it was concerned about the attack on its ally. NATO called a meeting at the request of Turkey to discuss the Syria situation.
Erdogan is thought to be using the migration flow to try to pressure the EU and its NATO member states to lend him support in Turkey’s military operation in Syria.
Migrants pictured gathered on the buffer zone on the Greece-Turkey border this morning. Erdogan said he had ‘opened the doors’ following the killing of 33 Turkish troops in Northern Syria by the Russian-backed regime
A group of migrants from Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan and Palestine arrive in a dinghy at Mytilene in Lesbos after crossing the Aegean Sea from Turkey
Migrants pictured in a makeshift tent as the wait in the buffer zone between Greek Kastanies and Turkish Pazarkule today
Rows of migrants pictured trudging through fields asthey walk to reach Pazarakule at the Turkish border with Greece
One of the first stand-offs came on Friday night at Pazarkule, north-east Greece, where hundreds of migrants – including Syrians, Iranians, Iraqis, Pakistanis and Moroccans – demanded to be let in.
The EU’s border protection agency Frontex said this morning it is on ‘high alert’ on Europe’s borders with Turkey as thousands of migrants seek to enter the bloc, adding it is deploying support to Greece.
‘We… have raised the alert level for all borders with Turkey to high,’ a Frontex spokeswoman said in a statement. ‘We have received a request from Greece for additional support. We have already taken steps to redeploy to Greece technical equipment and additional officers.’
Frontex was also in action yesterday supporting Greece and Bulgaria along their borders. A statement said: ‘We are in close contact with Greek authorities regarding additional support we can provide in this rapidly evolving situation.’
As many as 400 personnel were deployed in the Greek islands, 60 officers in Bulgaria and a further contingent in the Evros region on the Greece-Turkey border, they said yesterday.
Migrants sit at the side of the road after they were detained by Greek police in Neo Cheimonio this morning
An estimated 30,000 migrants gathered at checkpoints after Turkey’s president claimed to have ‘opened the doors’ to allow as many as 4 million asylum seekers to leave the country
Migrants throw objects during clashes with Greek police, at the Turkey’s Pazarkule border crossing with Greece’s Kastanies, in Edirne, Turkey
Refugees and migrants gather at Pazarkule border as they attempt to enter Greece
Greece said this morning it had blocked an estimated 10,000 migrants, including families and young children, from entering the country. Several boatloads of migrants arrived in Lesbos.
An estimated 2,000 further migrants arrived at the Pazarkule Greece-Turkey border this morning which included Afghans, Syrians and Iraqis.
The Greek deputy defence minister, Alkiviadis Stefanis, congratulated the country’s forces on their efforts and said: ‘We are protecting the borders of Greece and Europe with a firm hand’.
The EU’s Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said the block was watching ‘with concern’ as the commissioner for migration, Margaritis Schinas, tweeted this morning that he had requested a meeting of interior ministers to discuss the situation.
Last night a group of young men who tried to cut through the border fence were turned back by armed soldiers, while police used smoke grenades to disperse crowds.
Angry clashes started just 24 hours after an announcement by Turkish authorities that it would no longer restrict the movement of refugees, tearing up a £5 billion agreement with the EU to contain the flow of asylum seekers signed after the 2015 migrant crisis.
Turkey’s decision comes amid frustration that the EU and Nato countries, including Britain, have failed to provide enough support in the country’s opposition to President Bashar al-Assad in the Syrian civil war. On Thursday, 33 Turkish soldiers were killed by Syrian forces, dramatically raising tensions in a war in which Turkey and Russia are backing opposing sides.
Turkey has continued retaliatory strikes against the Syrian government, killing a further 26 Syrian troops with drone strikes on Saturday, according to the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan insisted he would not back down, adding that his country could not handle another wave of refugees from northern Syria. ‘We opened the doors,’ he said. ‘We will not close those doors. Why? Because the EU should keep its promises.’
Turkey has been hosting an estimated 3.7million migrants since a deal was struck with the EU. Bureaucrats in Brussels said yesterday that Turkey had not ‘formally’ notified them of any change to its migration policy.
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) members distribute food to migrants and refugees that gathered at the Turkish-Greek border, near Edirne, Turkey
A drone photo shows migrants moving towards, and congregating around, the Turkish side of the Turkey-Greece border at Pazarkule, Edirne, Turkey yesterday
A migrants stands during clashes with Greek police, at the Turkey’s Pazarkule border crossing with Greece’s Kastanies, in Edirne, Turkey yesterday
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (rear C) makes a speech as he holds a meeting with his ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party’s Istanbul deputies at the Dolmabahce Palace in Istanbul, Turkey yesterday
Greek police officers are pictured from Turkey’s Pazarkule border crossing with Greece’s Kastanies during clashes with migrants, in Edirne, Turkey yesterday
A locator map shows the crossing governate Edirne, which houses most of the borders into Greece and Bulgaria, and Lesbos, where many migrants from sub-Saharan Africa land on dinghys
Tear gas floats in the air during clashes between migrants and Greek police, at the Turkey’s Pazarkule border crossing with Greece’s Kastanies, in Edirne, Turkey yesterday
A map shows the border points from Turkey into Greece and Bulgaria, and from Syria into Turkey
Migrants can be seen on their way towards the Turkish-Greek border in Edime, Turkey yesterday
Syrian migrants can be seen being rescued after being stranded on an islet after they tried reaching the Greek side of the Evros River in Edirne, Turkey yesterday
A woman reacts as a dinghy transporting 27 refugees and migrants originating from Gambia and the Republic of Congo lands in Lesbos island after they were rescued by a war ship during their sea crossing between Turkey and Greece yesterday
Migrants wait as Greek anti riot police officers patrol on the buffer zone Turkey-Greece border, at Pazarkule, in Edirne district yesterday
Migrants can be seen after they were rescued when stranded on an islet while trying to paddle to the Greek side of the Evros river, in Turkey yesterday
A man takes coover behind an umbrella as he throws a mattress in a fire during clashes with Greek police in the buffer zone at Turkey-Greece border, at Pazarkule, in Edirne district yesterday
Migrants, who are trying to cross into Europe through Turkey, are pictured reaching for food aid near the Pazarkule Border in Karaagac neighbourhood of Edirne, Turkey yesterday
A Greek policeman collects tear gas canisters reportedly thrown from the Turkish side of the border during riots beween migrants and Greek police at the closed Kastanies border crossing, on the borderline between Greece and Turkey, near the Evros River yesterday
Refugees wait for attempting to pass the closed-off Turkish-Greek border and try to enter Europe, Edirne, Turkey yesterday
Refugees wait for attempting to pass the closed-off Turkish-Greek border and try to enter Europe, Edirne, Turkey yesterday while Greek border officials look on from the Greek side
Greek Police guard Kastanies border gate, Evros region, as a migrant stands in front of a fence between Greece and Pazarkule border gate, Edirne, Turkey yesterday
Greek riot policemen guard behind fences as refugees wait for attempting to pass the closed-off Turkish-Greek border and try to enter Europe, Edirne yesterday
Irregular migrants, who want to proceed to Europe, wait at the Turkish side and the buffer zone between the Greek Kastanies and Turkish Pazarkule border gates today in Turkey
Migrants run away as Greek anti-riot police officers use tears gas on the buffer zone Turkey-Greece border, at Pazarkule yesterday