Video emerges of migrants being shot, injured & in one case killed on Turkish/Greek border.
The video is graphic.
The Turkish governor says the shots were fired by Greek border guards. 6 injured – 3 in legs/feet, 1 in groin, 1 in leg, 1 in chest – he later died.
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Thousands of migrants have been forced to sleep in the open, exposed to the elements and in temperatures close to freezing in the border province of Edirne in northwestern Turkey.
Some have traveled by train, others by bus or taxi, all hoping that President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s warning to Europe will mean they can eventually get to countries like Germany or Italy.
Dozens have attempted to cross the Maritsa River to Greece while others described mistreatment by Greek authorities.
Over 100,000 migrants have left Turkish borders through Edirne for Europe since Friday, Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu said Sunday.
As a “measure” against the crossings, Greece border police use tear gas and stun grenades. Apart from the tear gas and grenades, the police also arrested dozens of refugees for attempting to enter the country. According to Greek officials, they arrested 66 migrants Friday, 17 of whom were sentenced to 3.5 years in jail for entering the country illegally. Those sentenced were all Afghans and were the first migrants sentenced for illegal entry since 2014. On Saturday, Greece arrested another 70 people who tried to cross the land border illegally.
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 34 Turkish soldiers were killed by Bashar Assad regime forces in Idlib in northwestern Syria. The Turkish soldiers were deployed to the region to protect local civilians under a 2018 deal with Russia under which acts of aggression are prohibited.
Turkey already hosts some 3.7 million migrants from Syria alone, more than any other country in the world.
The nation has repeatedly complained that Europe has failed to keep its promises to help migrants and stem further migrant waves.
