Crisis Mounts on Greek-Turkish Border as Migrants Languish // FAI ONLINE

Greek border police confront migrants at the border fence between Greece and Turkey (Credit: @PictureAlliance, H.M. Sahin)

It has been 10 days since Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced that his government had reached its capacity to manage refugees fleeing to Turkey from Middle Eastern conflict zones. Since then, tens of thousands of Syrian, Afghan and other migrants have massed along Turkey’s border with Greece, seeking to cross into European Union territory.

Weary from the migrant waves of 2015-2016, Greece and other Mediterranean EU states have been resistant to absorbing more refugees. Migrants were met on the border by Greek border police and military units who pushed them back with tear gas and water cannons as they attempted to scale or cut through the border fences. Those fences have now been fortified and Greek forces bolstered along the border.

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Migrants also swelled onto the Greek island of Lesbos last week, where they were confronted by police and vigilantes. A migrant camp was set on fire by unknown assailants, and acts of violence against migrants have been reported.

Migrants on Lesbos and at the Greek border have become increasingly agitated, having been directed to cross the border by Turkish authorities but rebuffed by Greek authorities, they now find themselves in limbo. Greece and other EU states accuse Turkey of violating a 2016 agreement to shelter refugees inside Turkish borders in exchange for EU funds. Rather, they claim that Turkey is not overwhelmed, but is employing a calculated strategy of weaponizing migrant populations to pressure European NATO states to contribute to the Turkish offensive in the Syrian province of Idlib.

Turkish soldiers and border guards have been observed busing refugees to the border, opening the Turkish border fences and attacking Greek border guards with tear gas in order to give the migrants a chance to cross. Turkey has absorbed over 3 million Middle Eastern refugees from conflicts in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan over the past decade.