FRESH clashes have erupted at Turkey’s land border with Greece after Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government said it will no longer prevent migrants from crossing over to EU territory.
Greece has deployed riot police and border guards to repel people trying to enter the country from the sea or by land.
A statement from Erdogan’s office yesterday said he would travel to Brussels on March 9, though the nature of his visit – to the city where the EU is based – was not specified.
That announcement came hours after European Union foreign ministers meeting in Croatia on Friday criticised Turkey, saying it is using the migrants’ desperation “for political purposes”.
More clashes erupted on Saturday between Greek police and Europe-bound migrants gathered on the Turkey side of a border crossing near the Greek village of Kastanies.
Like previous confrontations this week, officers in Greece fired tear gas to impede the crowd and Turkish police fired tear gas back at their Greek counterparts.
Journalists saw groups of mostly young men trying to pull down a fence with ropes and throwing rocks at the Greek border forces. At least two migrants were injured.
A Greek government statement issued yesterday said around 600 people, aided by Turkish army and military police, threw tear gas at the Greek side of the border overnight.
There were several attempts to breach the border, and fires were lit in an attempt to damage the barrier.
The statement said: “Attempts at illegal entry into Greek territory were prevented by Greek forces, which repaired the fence and used sirens and loudspeakers.”
Thousands of migrants have slept in makeshift camps near the border since the Turkish government said they were free to go, waiting for the opportunity to cut over to Greece.
Mahmood Mohammed, 34, who identified himself as a refugee from Syria’s embattled Idlib province, said: “It is very difficult, but there is hope, God willing.”
Another man who also identified himself as from Idlib said he was camped out in western Turkey to get away from the war at home and to make a new life for his family in Europe or Canada.
Erdogan announced last week that Turkey would no longer be Europe’s gatekeeper and declared that its previously guarded borders with Europe are now open.
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