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Refugees head towards Greece as Turkey opens borders over Syria crisis
Greece and Bulgaria crack down on Turkish borders as refugees arrive
(about 1 hour later)
Move appears designed to put pressure on Europe to support Turkish Idlib operation
Move appears designed to put pressure on Europe to support Turkey’s Idlib operation
Hundreds of Syrian refugees in Turkey have begun preparing to travel towards the country’s borders with Greece and Bulgaria after Ankara suddenly indicated that it would to no longer impede their passage to Europe.
Hundreds of refugees in Turkey began arriving at the country’s borders with Greece and Bulgaria on Friday after Ankara suddenly indicated it would no longer block their passage to Europe.
The move comes after an airstrike on Thursday night in Syria’s Idlib province killed at least 33 Turkish soldiers recently deployed to support the Syrian opposition in the face of a bruising Russian-backed Syrian government offensive.
The move prompted both neighbouring nations to shore up their borders as their governments insisted they would not allow anyone to enter. Greek police used smoke grenades at one border crossing, while Bulgaria sent an extra 1,000 troops to its frontier with Turkey.
Turkish police, coastguard and border security officials were ordered to stand down overnight on Thursday, Turkish officials briefed reporters. The change in policy has not yet been officially confirmed.
The European Union, meanwhile, warned the Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, that it expected Ankara to abide by a €6bn (£5.2bn) deal to stem migration to its member states. Under the 2016 agreement, Turkey agreed to halt the flow of people to the EU in return for funds. Turkey currently has about 3.6 million refugees from Syria. There was alarm in Brussels as footage of hundreds of refugees and migrants heading for the land and sea borders with Greece was aired by the Turkish state news agencies.
Turkey often threatens to reopen the migrant route from the Middle East, which at its peak in 2015 saw thousands drown in the Mediterranean and a million people reach Greece and Italy, where many still live in miserable displacement camps.
Turkey’s decision comes after an airstrike on Thursday night in Syria’s Idlib province killed at least 33 Turkish soldiers recently deployed to support the Syrian opposition in the face of a bruising Russian-backed Syrian government offensive.
Thursday’s decision, however, would effectively reverse a 2016 deal Turkey struck with the EU to cut the numbers of migrants entering Europe. It appears to be calibrated to force the EU and Nato to support Ankara’s new military operation in Idlib.
Turkey’s police, coastguard and border guards were ordered to stand down overnight on Thursday, Turkish officials briefed reporters. The change in policy has not yet been officially confirmed.
Under the impression that the window to leave Turkey may be short-lived, some of the 3.6 million Syrians currently living in the country began to move quickly.
Turkey often threatens to reopen the migrant route from the Middle East, which at its peak in 2015 saw thousands drown in the Mediterranean and a million people reach Greece and Italy, where many still live in miserable displacement camps. Thursday’s decision, however, would in effect reverse a 2016 deal Turkey struck with the EU to cut the numbers of migrants entering Europe. It appears to be designed to force the EU and Nato to support Ankara’s new military operation in Idlib.
Turkish news agency Demirören showed footage of what it said was 300 people, including women and children, walking on highways and through forested land in north-west Turkey towards the EU border early on Friday. Syrians, Iranians, Iraqis, Pakistanis and Moroccans were among those in the group, it said.
Under the impression that the window to leave Turkey may be shortlived, some of the 3.6 million Syrians living in the country began to move quickly.
In Istanbul, the local Syrian community began organising buses to take people from the city to the borders. Dozens of people waited for the informal transport at a square in the city’s Fatih district.
The Turkish news agency Demirören showed footage of what it said was 300 people, including women and children, walking on highways and through forested land in north-east Turkey towards the EU border early on Friday. Syrians, Iranians, Iraqis, Pakistanis and Moroccans were among those in the group, it said.
At the bus station in Edirne, the last big town before the Greek border, dozens of people - mostly young men and a few families – gathered to assess their next move and await reports on what was happening at the border itself. One young Iraqi man hung up his phone and told those within earshot that the borders were still closed.
In Istanbul, the local Syrian community began organising buses to take people from the city to the borders. Dozens of people waited for the informal transport at a square in the city’s Fatih district. At the bus station in the city, dozens of people - mostly young men and a few families – gathered in the hope of getting on buses to Edirne, the last big town before the Greek border, and await reports on what was happening at the border itself. One young Iraqi man hung up his phone and told those within earshot that the borders were still closed.
Turkish television also reported that migrants were leaving the western Turkish coastal district of Ayvacık, in Çanakkale province, on small boats and dinghies with the aim of travelling by boat to Lesbos island in Greece. At least one small boat successfully made the perilous journey to the Greek island. Another boat carrying about 50 people reached the island of Samos, police said.
Turkish television also reported that people were leaving the western Turkish coastal district of Ayvacık, in Çanakkale province, on small boats and dinghies with the aim of travelling by boat to the Greek island of Lesbos. At least one small boat successfully made the perilous journey, while another boat carrying about 50 people reached the island of Samos, police said.
Turkey’s NTV channel also showed scores of people walking through fields wearing backpacks and said the refugees had tried to cross the Kapıkule border into Bulgaria, but were not allowed through.
Turkey’s NTV channel also showed scores of people walking through fields wearing backpacks and said they had tried to cross the Kapıkule border into Bulgaria, but were not allowed through.
Greece boosted border patrols on Friday. An army source said around 300 people had been spotted on the Turkish side of the border in the north-eastern Evros region but that the numbers were “not out of the ordinary”.
Greece boosted border patrols on Friday. An army source said about 300 people had been spotted on the Turkish side of the border in the north-eastern Evros region but that the numbers were “not out of the ordinary”.
“They will not enter the country. They are irregular migrants, we won’t let them enter,” a Greek government official told Reuters. The Greek prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis tweeted: “I want to be clear: no illegal entries into Greece will be tolerated. We are increasing our border security.”
“They will not enter the country. They are irregular migrants, we won’t let them enter,” a Greek government official told Reuters. The Greek prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis tweeted: “Significant numbers of migrants and refugees have gathered in large groups at the Greek-Turkish land border and have attempted to enter the country illegally. I want to be clear: no illegal entries into Greece will be tolerated.”
While Turkish officials have blamed Bashar al-Assad’s Syrian regime for the major attack on its troops, several sources in Idlib and unverified footage of the night-time strike suggested it had been carried out by the Russian air force, which has helped Damascus conduct a ferocious three-month offensive on Idlib.
Bulgaria also increased security. The prime minister, Boyko Borissov, announced that army units, border police and the national guard had been deployed to the border.
The US and the UK condemned the Syrian action. British foreign secretary Dominic Raab called for an emergency UN security council session in New York, and added: “Yesterday’s events only confirmed the reckless and brutal nature of the offensive which the Syrian regime and Russia are conducting in Idlib. This has created the gravest humanitarian crisis of the entire war.”
Erdoğan has frequently warned that he could open Turkey’s borders as part of his efforts to force European leaders into backing his military campaign in northern Syria.
Nato held urgent talks on the crisis on Friday after Turkey requested a rare emergency meeting of Nato members under Article 4 of the alliance’s governing treaty, on the grounds that its ecurity was under threat.
Despite the footage of people travelling to Europe’s border, EU officials insisted on Friday they had not been officially informed that Turkey was reneging on the deal. A European commission spokesman said: “We expect Turkey to deliver on this part of the deal. We have heard the statements from the Turkish officials that there is no change to the Turkish policy in this respect, so far.”
Jens Stoltenberg, Nato’s secretary general, said that members of the western military alliance expressed their “full solidarity” with Turkey after an emergency session in Brussels but offered no concrete promise of assistance.
Asked whether the EU could hold back on some of the €6bn ringfenced for Turkey under the migration deal, a spokesman declined to comment. The EU has so far disbursed €3.2bn of the funds dedicated to supporting aid for the refugees and migrants living in Turkey.
The secretary general said that Nato members “are constantly looking into what more they can do to provide further support for Turkey”. Insiders said this would involve adding to existing support for Ankara’s air defences. Despite pleas from Turkey before the meeting to implement a no fly zone in Idlib, it is understood the idea was not seriously discussed at the Nato meeting.
The Greek government has said it already expected some 100,000 people to enter the country in 2020 compared with 60,000 in 2020. The cramped conditions in refugee camps on Greek territory have been described as inhumane by NGOs.
Almost a million people have been displaced and driven northwards to the Turkish border by the regime campaign on rebels and jihadist factions, making the battle for control of Syria’s last opposition stronghold the worst humanitarian crisis in the war to date.
Government officials said Mitsotakis had spoken by phone with the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, in light of the developments.
There are international fears of a rapidly growing risk of escalation after the attack on Turkish forces, adding to calls for a ceasefire on humanitarian grounds.
The EU’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, called for a halt to the bloodshed in Syria, warning of a “risk of sliding into a major open international military confrontation”. He tweeted: “It is also causing unbearable humanitarian suffering and putting civilians in danger.”
The deadly bombardment has added to weeks of growing tensions between Turkey, a supporter of Syrian rebels and Nato member, and Moscow, which is allied with Assad.
The developments came as the EU’s border agency, Frontex, admitted to slow progress in hiring 10,000 officers to police its borders by 2024. A spokesman said the agency was “in the process” of hiring the first tranche of 700 officers to be ready to work in January 2021.
Adding to the volatile situation, Moscow sent two warships, the Admiral Makarov and Admiral Grigorovich, both capable of firing Kalibr cruise missiles, from the Black Sea to the Mediterranean waters off Syria on Friday. They moved through the Bosphorus strait, which is governed by an international treaty, sailing through the heart of Istanbul.
Turkey retaliated to Thursday’s strike by hitting Damascus regime targets “from the air and ground”, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s communications director, Fahrettin Altun, said.
Drone footage released by the Turkish military of the response showed blistering attacks on tanks, howitzers and soldiers.
Turkey said it had destroyed five Syrian military helicopters and two air defence systems and “neutralised” 309 Syrian regime soldiers, without giving evidence. A war monitor said at least 20 Syrian troops had died in the counterattacks.
There was no immediate confirmation from Damascus of the reported troop deaths or any comment on the flare-up with Ankara.
In a phone call with Russian president Vladimir Putin, Erdoğan said Syrian government troops and allied forces remained legitimate targets for Ankara. The Kremlin said they agreed on the need for a new arrangement to avert clashes in Idlib. Turkey said the leaders agreed to meet as soon as possible.
The UN said that the latest fighting was coming “dangerously close” to encampments of the displaced, risking an imminent “bloodbath”.
Turkey, which is already home to millions of Syrian refugees, fears more people will attempt to cross its closed southern border. There is growing popular discontent against the refugees’ presence in Turkey.
Additional reporting by Ghaith Abdul-Ahad in Erdine
