Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Fighting escalates, refugees mass
Turkey eased border restrictions for those seeking to enter Greece as fighting with Syria intensifies.
KASTANIES, Greece — Thousands of migrants and refugees massed at Turkey’s western frontier Sunday, 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-Qaida linked 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’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. “We can’t be expected to do this on our own.”
Erdogan’s decision 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 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 honor the agreement, and Erdogan has frequently threatened to allow refugees into Europe unless more international support was provided.
Turkey already hosts 3.6 million Syrian refugees, as well as many others from Africa, Asia and the Middle East. Turkey borders Greece and Bulgaria, both European Union members.
On the Greek-Turkish land border, Greek army and police patrols using tear gas and stun grenades to thwart attempts by thousands to push into the country overnight.
Officials said the situation was calmer Sunday morning. But in the afternoon, authorities used tear gas and water cannons to push back another crowd attempting to cross. Migrants threw rocks and other objects, and one policeman was injured. Greek authorities said they stopped about 10,000 crossing attempts Saturday, and another 5,500 on Sunday.
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis convened the defense and foreign affairs committee Sunday evening. Afterward, a government spokesman said Greece was starting a onemonth freeze on accepting asylum applications from migrants who enter illegally.
Europe’s border agency Frontex said it was “redeploying equipment and additional officers to Greece.”
A Greek government official said the Turkish authorities also fired tear gas at the Greek border, using drones flying close to the border. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to discuss the matter with the media.
Stavros Zamalides, the president of the Greek border community of Kastanies, said Turkish soldiers used wire cutters to actively help people cross.
On the Greek islands, existing migrant camps are overcrowded, and tensions there have mounted.
In a small harbor on Lesbos, angry local residents refused to allow migrants — including families with young children and babies — to disembark from a rubber boat that had just arrived. On Sunday night, a former staging area for new arrivals on Lesbos was set on fire.