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A8 WORLD NEWS
Monday 2 March 2020
Turkey opens gates into Europe as migrants gather on border
By ANDREW WILKS and threatened to "open the
COSTAS KANTOURIS Asso- gates" and allow refugees
ciated Press and migrants to head to
ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Tur- Europe unless more inter-
key's President Recep Tayy- national support was pro-
ip Erdogan said his coun- vided.
try's borders with Europe The German foreign min-
were open Saturday, mak- istry said it was in contact
ing good on a longstand- with other governments re-
ing threat to let refugees garding the matter and as-
into the continent as thou- sumed and expected that
sands of migrants gathered the EU-Turkey agreement
at the frontier with Greece. will be adhered to.
Erdogan's announcement Since seizing territory from
that Turkey is allowing Kurdish forces in a different
refugees and migrants to part of Syria in October, Er-
exit the country marked a dogan has also suggested
dramatic departure from resettling at least a million
current policy and an ap- Syrian refugees from Tur-
parent attempt to pressure key in that northeastern
Europe. region. However, his efforts
It came amid a military es- to secure funding for such
calation in northwestern a scheme have been re-
Syria's Idlib province that Greek border guards patrol, left, as migrants wait at he Turkey-Greece border, in Pazarkule, Edirne, jected by European gov-
has forced hundreds of Turkey, Friday, Feb. 28, 2020. Associated Press ernments. Aid groups have
thousands of Syrian civilians said it is still too dangerous
to return refugees to Syria.
to flee fighting between Turkey currently hosts more
advancing Syrian govern- than 3.5 million Syrian refu-
ment forces backed by gees, and many others
Russia and rebel fighters fleeing war and poverty in
supported by Turkey. Asia, Africa and the Middle
The mass displacement in East use it as a staging post
Idlib has raised the possibil- and transit point to reach
ity that Turkey might come Europe, usually through
under growing internation- neighboring Greece.
al pressure to open its now Migrants played a cat-and-
sealed border with Syria mouse game with Greek
and offer refuge to desper- border patrols Friday night
ate Syrian civilians. through Saturday, with
"We can't handle a new Greek authorities firing tear
wave of migration," Erdo- gas to repulse the crowd's
gan said Saturday, in an attempts to push through
apparent reference to the the border. Greek officials
growing humanitarian crisis said migrants lobbed at
in Idlib. Nearly 950,000 dis- least 20 canisters of tear
placed civilians have been gas toward the border
pushed toward the Syrian- from the Turkish side.
Turkish border amid cold Greek officials arrested
winter weather. 66 migrants Friday, 17 of
Erdogan said Turkey would whom were sentenced to
not stand in the way of refu- 3.5 years in jail for entering
gees and migrants already the country illegally. All Af-
in the country who hope to ghans, they were are the
head to Europe. first migrants sentenced for
"We will not close the gates illegal entry since 2014. On
to refugees," he said. "The Saturday, Greece arrested
European Union has to another 70 migrants who
keep its promises. We are tried to cross the border
not obliged to look after from Turkey.
and feed so many refu- Some migrants cut holes
gees." in the fence, with a few
Under a 6 billion euro deal managing to get through.
in 2016, Turkey agreed to They took shelter overnight
stem the tide of refugees to in abandoned buildings or
Europe in return for finan- small chapels in the Greek
cial aid after more than a countryside before starting
million people entered Eu- to walk toward northern
rope in 2015. It has since cities.
accused the EU of failing Others were crossing from
to honor the agreement. the Turkish coast to nearby
Erdogan has frequently Greek islands. q
