Fresh clashes at Greek border, Athens says 35,000 migrants repelled

A migrant runs during the clashes with Greek police officers at the Turkey-Greece border, near Pazarkule crossing gate in Edirne, Turkey. /Bulent Kilic/AFP

Fresh clashes broke out at Turkey's border with Greece on Friday, as Athens reported it had repelled 35,000 migrants from its frontier since Ankara opened its border to Europe nearly a week ago.

Greek security officers used water cannon and tear gas to disperse migrants in the buffer zone between the two countries, with some of those hoping to pass the frontier throwing stones in response.

However, calm was quickly restored, with hundreds of migrants sitting peacefully in front of the gates, chanting "peace," "freedom" and "open the gates."

Tear gas, accusations fly

A migrant woman tries to talk with the Greek authorities in the buffer zone at the Turkey-Greece border, near the Pazarkule crossing gate in Edirne. /Bulent Kilic/AFP

On Friday, Greek officials accused Turkey of firing tear gas and smoke bombs at their border guards and providing cutters to migrants to break through fencing.

"There are coordinated attacks this morning," said one Greek official. "Apart from intimidation, these attacks are taking place from the Turkish police to help migrants cross the fence border line."

Earlier in the week, Turkey accused Greek forces of shooting dead four migrants and injuring 164 people, a charge rejected by Athens.

Ankara is also preparing a case at the European Court of Human Rights over Greece's treatment of migrants.

Turkey's interior minister, Suleyman Soylu, visited Edirne province, which borders Greece, on Thursday, announcing the deployment of 1,000 special police to the area to halt the push-back of migrants towards its territory.

Caught in the middle

An aerial picture taken from a helicopter by the Turkish Interior ministry shows migrant camps at the Turkish-Greek border near Edirne. /Turkish Interior Ministry/AFP

Makeshift camps for thousands of migrants have sprung up around the border since Turkey's president Recep Tayyip Erdogan said last week they would no longer be stopped from trying to leave the country.

Many say they are being pushed to leave. "They [the Turkish military] told us that if you don't go to the border ... you will be forced to come back to Turkey and people don't want to come back because they don't have any good opportunities, there isn't anything," explained Ali, an Iranian migrant at the border.

Watch more: Keep your borders open to refugees, United Nations tells EU

Greece has reported that 35,000 migrants had been repelled from its borders since last week, with nearly 7,000 migrant crossings rebuffed in 24 hours. The country has said migrants who cross the border will be deported to their country of origin.

However, Athens-based NGO HumanRights360 believes the number of migrants at the border may have dropped within the past few days and that government figures may be exaggerated.

Syria ceasefire agreed

Turkey's president Recep Tayyip Erdogan, left, and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin have agreed a ceasefire in Syria. /Pavel Golovkin/POOL/AFP

Friday's clashes came a day after Turkey and Russia agreed a ceasefire in Syria following a months-long stand-off between Turkey-backed rebels and government forces in Syria's Idlib province, which has created another wave of refugees heading West.

Turkey, which already hosts four million refugees, said the ceasefire did not change its need for greater assistance in dealing with the humanitarian crisis triggered by the Syrian conflict and other crises in the region.

Erdogan's office said the Syrian ceasefire would not alter its policy on refugees leaving for Europe.

"The Russia-Turkey agreement does not ... change the fact of the European Union's non-compliance with its promises as part of the 2016 refugee deal," presidential sources told state news agency Anadolu.

Turkey agreed in 2016 to stop letting migrants leave towards the EU in exchange for six billion euros ($6.6 billion) – but Ankara says other parts of the deal, including improved visa and trade rules, were never fulfilled.

Russia, which backs Syrian government forces with air power, agreed to impose a ceasefire in Idlib from midnight and the skies were free of warplanes for the first day in months on Friday, although previous peace agreements have proved temporary.

EU says border situation 'unacceptable'

EU's top diplomat Josep Borrell welcomed the Syria ceasefire. /Damir Sencar/AFP

The ceasefire was welcomed by the EU's top diplomat.

"For sure I am pleased for the ceasefire, the ceasefire is good news. At least it's goodwill – let's see how it works," Josep Borrell said as he arrived in Zagreb for talks on the migration issue.

However, EU foreign ministers at the same meeting said on Friday that Turkey's decision to open its border, ignoring its 2016 migration deal with the European Union, was not acceptable and any such political pressure would be rejected.

Watch: Clashes along Turkish-Greek border as refugees try to cross

"The EU reiterates its serious concern over the situation at the Greek-Turkish border and strongly rejects Turkey's use of migratory pressure for political purposes," the ministers said in a statement after a meeting in Zagreb.

"This situation at the EU external border is not acceptable," they added. Also telling Ankara: "Migrants should not be encouraged to attempt illegal crossings by land or sea."

When Borrell was asked about a possible no-fly zone for Idlib, for which the Netherlands has shown support, he said: "We have to concentrate our efforts on the humanitarian side."

Source(s): Reuters ,AFP