Turkey to dispatch 1000 policemen to “prevent pushbacks at Greek border”
March 5, 2020
Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu announced the dispatch of 1,000 police officers to the country’s North-West border in order to”prevent Greece to push migrants back to Turkey.”
In an interview with CNN Turk on Thursday, Soylu said that the EU border protection agency Frontex and Greece have pushed 4,900 migrants back to Turkey since March 1.
Some 164 migrants were injured in the process, added.
Soylu also said “the authorities were trying to prevent migrants from crossing through the Aegean Sea to prevent a humanitarian crisis.”
Nearly 140,000 migrants have left Turkish borders through Edirne for Europe since Friday, Soylu added.
He threatened to take Greece to the European Court of Human Rights for not allowing migrants into the country.
On Thursday, Soylu visited the border
Bakanımız Sn. @suleymansoylu, Türkiye-Yunanistan sınırında incelemelerde bulunuyor pic.twitter.com/FrwnC7MPXb
— T.C. İçişleri Bakanlığı (@TC_icisleri) March 5, 2020
Last week, Turkish authorities announced that they would no longer prevent the flow of migrants who wanted to reach Europe.
The decision was made after 36 Turkish soldiers were killed in Idlib in northwestern Syria, last Thursday.
“Greece’s response to irregular migrants and asylum seekers has been harsh, with many battered and tear-gassed, and at least two killed by Greek security forces,” notes Turkish daily Sabah.
Published at https://www.keeptalkinggreece.com/2020/03/05/turkey-dispatch-police-evros-greece-pushbacks-soylu/
