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| Child dies as boat carrying migrants capsizes off Lesbos | Child dies as boat carrying migrants capsizes off Lesbos |
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| Five-year-old dies as crisis sparked by Turkey’s decision to open its borders continues | Five-year-old dies as crisis sparked by Turkey’s decision to open its borders continues |
| The first victim of the worsening crisis that has engulfed Greece following Turkey’s abrupt decision to open its borders to thousands of refugees desperate to reach Europe has been confirmed with the death of a child in waters off Lesbos. | The first victim of the worsening crisis that has engulfed Greece following Turkey’s abrupt decision to open its borders to thousands of refugees desperate to reach Europe has been confirmed with the death of a child in waters off Lesbos. |
| Authorities said a four-year-old Syria boy died early on Monday when an inflatable dinghy carrying people from the Turkish coast capsized off the island. “Doctors rushed to save the child but it was too late,” a police source on Lesbos said. | |
| The death came as Greek government sources confirmed that border forces had thwarted 9,877 people from trying to cross its borders overnight. At least 1,000 people had managed to circumvent a flotilla of naval vessels and coastguard patrol boats to reach Greece’s eastern Aegean islands since Sunday morning. | The death came as Greek government sources confirmed that border forces had thwarted 9,877 people from trying to cross its borders overnight. At least 1,000 people had managed to circumvent a flotilla of naval vessels and coastguard patrol boats to reach Greece’s eastern Aegean islands since Sunday morning. |
| Reports have been rife of people being transferred to the borders en masse by Turkish authorities in buses and military vehicles. | Reports have been rife of people being transferred to the borders en masse by Turkish authorities in buses and military vehicles. |
| Athens’ centre-right government announced it was ratcheting up its frontier defences to the highest possible level late on Sunday, saying the EU member state was facing “an asymmetric threat” to its security. | Athens’ centre-right government announced it was ratcheting up its frontier defences to the highest possible level late on Sunday, saying the EU member state was facing “an asymmetric threat” to its security. |
| As of Monday both the army and border patrol forces had been placed on maximum alert with the military engaging in exercises using live ammunition along the Evros land frontier abutting Turkey and as far as Lesbos, according to the defence ministry. The exercises were interpreted as a covert effort to deter people from making the journey to Greece. | As of Monday both the army and border patrol forces had been placed on maximum alert with the military engaging in exercises using live ammunition along the Evros land frontier abutting Turkey and as far as Lesbos, according to the defence ministry. The exercises were interpreted as a covert effort to deter people from making the journey to Greece. |
| The crisis marks the worst deterioration in ties between the EU and Ankara since both struck a landmark accord to curb migratory flows in March 2016. In exchange for €6bn (£5.2bn) in EU funds Turkey agreed to host millions of displaced Syrians at the height of its civil war. The Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, says he was prompted to “open the gates” to Europe by relaxing border controls partly because Brussels had failed “to keep its promise” and provide funds for the 3.7 million Syrian refugees currently residing in the country. | The crisis marks the worst deterioration in ties between the EU and Ankara since both struck a landmark accord to curb migratory flows in March 2016. In exchange for €6bn (£5.2bn) in EU funds Turkey agreed to host millions of displaced Syrians at the height of its civil war. The Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, says he was prompted to “open the gates” to Europe by relaxing border controls partly because Brussels had failed “to keep its promise” and provide funds for the 3.7 million Syrian refugees currently residing in the country. |
| Amid mounting international alarm, the Greek prime minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, said he would visit the Evros region on Tuesday with top EU officials, including the EU commission chief, Ursula von der Leyen, and president of the European council, Charles Michel. | Amid mounting international alarm, the Greek prime minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, said he would visit the Evros region on Tuesday with top EU officials, including the EU commission chief, Ursula von der Leyen, and president of the European council, Charles Michel. |
| The trip is expected to be a show of solidarity for the embattled member state. | The trip is expected to be a show of solidarity for the embattled member state. |
| European Union ambassadors will hold an emergency meeting on Monday afternoon to discuss the escalating situation at the Greek-Turkish border, after several thousand people gathered at crossing points over the weekend. | European Union ambassadors will hold an emergency meeting on Monday afternoon to discuss the escalating situation at the Greek-Turkish border, after several thousand people gathered at crossing points over the weekend. |
| “The borders of Greece are the external borders of Europe,” Mitsotakis tweeted late Sunday after chairing an emergency meeting of the country’s national security council. | “The borders of Greece are the external borders of Europe,” Mitsotakis tweeted late Sunday after chairing an emergency meeting of the country’s national security council. |
| Greek officials announced that Athens had submitted a request to Frontex, the EU border agency, to mobilise its rapid border intervention force to assist in reinforcing the bloc’s external frontiers. Coastguard vessels manned by agency personnel and border guards were expected to arrive in the coming days. | Greek officials announced that Athens had submitted a request to Frontex, the EU border agency, to mobilise its rapid border intervention force to assist in reinforcing the bloc’s external frontiers. Coastguard vessels manned by agency personnel and border guards were expected to arrive in the coming days. |
| The administration said it would also be suspending asylum applications “for one month” – a move that may have been the cause of diminishing numbers remaining at the land border on Monday. | The administration said it would also be suspending asylum applications “for one month” – a move that may have been the cause of diminishing numbers remaining at the land border on Monday. |
| Athens has accused Ankara of deliberately “encouraging” the mass movement of thousands of people towards Greece in what it has described as an open violation of the 2016 agreement it reached with the EU. | Athens has accused Ankara of deliberately “encouraging” the mass movement of thousands of people towards Greece in what it has described as an open violation of the 2016 agreement it reached with the EU. |
| “Instead of restricting rings that traffic in migrants and refugees, Turkey, herself, has become a trafficker,” the Greek government spokesman, Stelios Petsas, told reporters following the emergency security council meeting. “These people are being used as pawns by Turkey to exercise diplomatic pressure.” | “Instead of restricting rings that traffic in migrants and refugees, Turkey, herself, has become a trafficker,” the Greek government spokesman, Stelios Petsas, told reporters following the emergency security council meeting. “These people are being used as pawns by Turkey to exercise diplomatic pressure.” |
| In further sign of the war of nerves between the neighbouring Nato states, Athens described a video reportedly depicting a fatality on the Greek-Turkish land border as “fake news”. “We call upon everyone to use caution when reporting news that furthers Turkish propaganda,” Petsas said. | |
| The emergency measures came after Greek security forces announced that a “titanic battle” was being waged to protect the nation’s borders. | The emergency measures came after Greek security forces announced that a “titanic battle” was being waged to protect the nation’s borders. |
| On Greece’s eastern Aegean isles, which have experienced a big rise in the number of refugees and migrants arriving in recent months, a 52-strong flotilla of gunships and coastguard vessels has been seconded to protect them. | On Greece’s eastern Aegean isles, which have experienced a big rise in the number of refugees and migrants arriving in recent months, a 52-strong flotilla of gunships and coastguard vessels has been seconded to protect them. |
| “Our borders are under huge pressure and, yes, they are big,” said Panayiotis Harelas, who heads the Panhellenic Federation of border guards union. “But our determination to defend them is bigger.” | “Our borders are under huge pressure and, yes, they are big,” said Panayiotis Harelas, who heads the Panhellenic Federation of border guards union. “But our determination to defend them is bigger.” |
| Additional reporting by Jennifer Rankin in Brussels | Additional reporting by Jennifer Rankin in Brussels |