Turkey - Page 21

Turkey has been accused of “Fanning the flames of Europe’s coronavirus crisis” by crowding migrants onto its frontier with Greece.

ATHENS, Greece (AP) – A tanker carrying around 190 migrants run aground in rough weather just outside the port on the Cycladic island of Kea, near the Greek capital, the coast guard said Monday.

The European Union refused to fund border fencing between Greece and Turkey prior to both the current border crisis and the 2015-16 border crisis, denouncing it as “pointless”.

The European Union has said that the Greek government must allow migrants to apply for asylum, despite its rhetorical support for their efforts to prevent the Turkish government from facilitating a wave of illegal migration into Greece.

Deputy leader of the populist Alternative for Germany (AfD) Beatrix von Storch has slammed the Turkish government for opening its borders to Europe, demanding that the country be removed from the NATO military alliance.

Three Turkish men have been sentenced for the killing of Aylan Kurdi, the Syrian toddler whose drowning was the catalyst for the 2015-16 migrant crisis. 

Greek authorities have deployed large fans at the Turkish border to push back against tear gas and other chemicals fired at the Greek border by migrants allegedly armed by Turkey.

Video footage has emerged of war-like scenes on the Greek land border with Turkey as over 700 migrants attempted to illegally cross the border.

Conservative Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has commended support pledged from other European Union member states to help reinforce the Greek border, calling the Aegean sea and the Evros river the “shield” of Europe.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has announced he will be hosting a migration summit with French and German, but not Greek leaders

President Erdogan of Turkey said that there is “no difference” between Greek forces trying to protect the nation’s border and the Nazis.

Greek authorities are preparing for a big push of migrants at the border while tensions between Greece and Turkey continue to escalate.

Greek Orthodox Archbishop Ieronymos II of Athens has blessed those guarding the Greek border, including a group of civilians, looking to prevent illegals crossing from Turkey.

Violent incidents, mostly directed at pro-migration NGOs, have escalated on the Greek island of Lesbos in recent days as Turkey refuses to close the gates to Europe.

The Greek government has released a night-vision video which they claim shows a Turkish armoured vehicle obtained through European Union funding trying to rip down border fencing and allow illegal migrants to penetrate the Greek border. 

Turkey’s Erdogan walked out of a meeting with EU officials after the two sides failed to reach an agreement on the migrant crisis.

While some of the migrants gathered on the Greek border are from Syria, a French broadcaster has revealed that many are actually from countries in North Africa which are not in a state of war at all.

Just four per cent of the supposed refugees who have breached the Greek border in recent days are Syrians, according to the Greek government.

The Islamist president of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, called on Greece to open its borders to allow thousands of migrants to pass through the country into other European nations.

The Turkish president’s Minister of the Interior, Süleyman Soylu, has predicted that mass migration across the Greek border will change Europe’s governments, bring down their economies, and collapse the stock market.

Turkish police used drones to organise attacks against Greek security forces tasked with protecting the nation’s borders from thousands of migrants attempting to illegally cross into the country, according to reports.

AMORIO, Greece (AP) – Over the years, villagers who live near Greece’s border with Turkey got used to seeing small groups of people enter their country illegally. The Greek residents often offered the just-arrived newcomers a bite to eat and directed them to the nearest police or railway station.

Swedish populist politician Jimmie Åkesson has been reported to the police for inciting hate after handing out “Sweden is full” flyers in Turkey this week.

Greece has accused the Turkish government of spreading “fake news” propaganda amid claims as many as five migrants have been shot dead on the border.

Dramatic pictures and video are emerging of fires raging along the border between Greece and Turkey, as migrants — aided and even armed by the Turks, according to the Greeks — continue their efforts to force their way in.

A total of 76 per cent of the Greek public support the tough border control policy enacted by the conservative Greek government, according to polling.

The Greek government has released a video claiming Turkey is ferrying illegal migrants to Europe’s borders and arming them with tear gas.

The Turkish army stand accused of helping to smuggle migrants across the border, according to a testimony published by a Swedish newspaper.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan filed a lawsuit Thursday against opposition Parliament member Engin Özkoç under charges of “insulting the president,” a crime in Turkey.

The Turkish government has sent an additional 1,000 special police to the border with Greece in order to prevent migrants coming back to the country.

Populist Sweden Democrat (SD) leader Jimmie Åkesson appeared along the Turkish border with Greece this week to hand out flyers to migrants stating “Sweden is full”.

The Turkish parliament endured another of its periodic fistfights on Wednesday, a sizable melee between opposition politicians and members of the ruling AKP party that apparently started when one of the opposition leaders “insulted” President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has labelled Greek attempts to stop asylum claims as being contrary to international agreements and not legal.

Turkish people-smugglers are operating freely along the Greek border, charging migrants just £11 to get past Greek border patrol guards.

Greece conducted a military drill with live ammunition along the Turkish border, as waves of migrants attempt to cross the border after President Erdogan’s decision to ‘open the gates’ for migrants to cross into Europe. Ahead of a visit from

Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz has stated that the Turkish move to open its borders to Europe for migrants was an attack on both Greece and the EU and his government will not take in new waves of migrants.