Turkey deployed 1,000 police officers on Thursday to prevent Greece pushing migrants back into Turkish territory, its interior minister said, as thousands of refugees massed at the Greek border.
“A thousand special force police officers are deployed from this morning to the Meric river on the border, fully equipped, to prevent people being pushed back,” Suleyman Soylu told reporters during a visit to the northwestern province of Edirne.
He accused Greece of “mistreating” migrants and said Turkey “would not allow it”.
The president of the Red Cross, Francesco Rocca, visiting the border area, said it was “unacceptable” for migrants to be used as “a political weapon.”
He also called for a more humane approach from Europe: “Our call… is for the European Union to start to act differently in terms of looking at the needs of the people, in looking at the dignity of the human beings.”
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said last week that migrants would no longer be prevented from trying to reach Europe.
Turkey is home to around four million refugees, the majority of them Syrian, and fears another influx as Russian-backed regime forces push to retake the last rebel stronghold of Idlib.
Greece must protect people seeking safety instead of leaving them trapped at the Turkish border. pic.twitter.com/HcKUWzS3Cf
— Amnesty International (@amnesty) March 2, 2020
After Erdogan’s announcement, thousands of refugees rushed to the border at Edirne, where there have been clashes with Greek police.
There have also been arrivals from Turkey to Greek islands such as Lesbos.
Turkey has claimed Greece is using live rounds against migrants, saying three have been killed.
Athens has dismissed the allegations as “fake news.”
Investigative website Bellingcat on Thursday said Greek riot police could be using potentially lethal tear gas after expended gas canisters with pointed tips were found by asylum-seekers.
The Greek government said border guards had prevented nearly 7,000 attempted entries over the last 24 hours, and nearly 35,000 over the last five days.
