News / EU

Greece fires tear gas at refugees at border crossing with Turkey

Wednesday, 04 March 2020 4:12 PM [ Last Update: Wednesday, 04 March 2020 4:35 PM ]

A refugee is seen during clashes with Greek police on the buffer zone Turkey-Greece border, Turkey, March 4, 2020. (Photo by AFP)

Greek security forces have fired tear gas and used water cannon at the border with Turkey to prevent hundreds of refugees from crossing into the European country, with Athens accusing Ankara of using tear gas against its police to help refugees breach the frontier.

More than 10,000 refugees have been trying to cross the border from Turkey since Ankara said last Thursday it would no longer prevent refugees from reaching Europe as it had been agreed upon in a 2016 deal with the European Union.

Greek troops also fired warning shots in the air on Wednesday to block refugees.

Greece and the EU accuse Ankara of deliberately encouraging the refugees to cross the border as a way of pressuring European leaders into offering more money or backing Turkey’s campaign in Syria.

The Greek government on Wednesday released a video it said showed Turkish border guards firing teargas canisters at the Kastanies border crossing.

A Turkish security official confirmed the claim, saying, “The Turkish police were responding with tear gas to Greek police firing bullets at the migrants. Turkish police never targeted the migrants, they aimed to protect the migrants from Greek fire.”

Athens also dismissed a Turkish claim that Greek troops had killed a refugee on the border on Wednesday.

“Turkey is disseminating fake news... I dismiss this categorically,” Greek government spokesman Stelios Petsas said.

Ankara made a similar accusation on Tuesday, saying Greek forces killed three refugees at the border, a claim rejected by the Greek authorities.

The influx of refugees sparked fears of a repeat of the 2015 refugee crisis, when over one million refugees arrived in the EU, most of them fleeing conflict zones in the Middle East and North Africa.

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