Greek border crisis
Turkey downs Syrian planes as migrants flood border areas
THOUSANDS of migrants and refugees massed at Turkey’s western frontier on Sunday, local time, trying to enter Greece by land and sea after Turkey said its borders were open to those hoping to head to Europe.
In Syria, Turkish troops shot down two Syrian warplanes after the Syrian military downed a Turkish drone, a major escalation in the direct conflict between Syrian and Turkish forces.
Turkey’s decision to ease border restrictions came amid a Russia-backed Syrian government offensive into
Syria’s northwestern Idlib province. That offensive has killed dozens of Turkish troops and led to a surge of nearly a million Syrian civilians fleeing the fighting toward Turkey’s sealed border.
Turkey backs the Syrian rebels fighting in Idlib province, and has sent thousands of troops into the area. Idlib is the last opposition-held stronghold in Syria, and is dominated by al-Qaedalinked fighters.
A Turkish official said the fighting in Idlib was directly linked to Turkey’s decision to open the gates for refugees to
Europe. He said Ankara had changed its focus to preparing for the possibility of new arrivals from Syria “instead of preventing refugees who intend to migrate to Europe”.
“Europe and others must take robust action to address this monumental challenge,” said Fahrettin Altun, the communications director for Turkey President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
“We can’t be expected to do this on our own.”
Mr Erdogan’s decision to open his country’s borders with Europe made good on a long-standing threat to let refugees into the continent. His announcement marked a dramatic departure from a previous policy of containment, an apparent attempt to pressure Europe into offering Turkey more support in dealing with the fallout from the Syrian war to its south.
Under a 6 billion euro deal in 2016, Turkey agreed to stem the tide of refugees to Europe in return for financial aid, after more than a million people entered Europe in 2015.
Turkey has since accused the EU of failing to honour the agreement, and Mr Erdogan
has frequently threatened to allow refugees into Europe unless more international support was provided.
On the Greek-Turkish land border, Greek army and police patrols used tear gas and stun grenades to thwart attempts by thousands to push into the country overnight.
Officials said the situation was much calmer on Sunday morning.
But in the afternoon, authorities used tear gas and water cannons to push back another crowd attempting to cross.