Greece fortifies border with Turkey to block quake-hit refugees

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
27 Feb 2023 13:00

Greek authorities dispatch hundreds of additional border guards along the Greek-Turkish land border in the Evros area.

Greek police officers next to a border fence in Greece’s Evros region bordering Turkey (Reuters)

Greece has strengthened border restrictions throughout its land and sea borders with Turkey, anticipating a new influx of refugees displaced by the devastating earthquakes that struck southeast Turkey and northern Syria.

Over the weekend, hundreds of additional border guards began patrolling the Greek-Turkish land border in the Evros area as precautionary steps to stem the expected wave of refugees were intensified.

Greek Migration Minister Notis Mitarachi considered that "the mass movement of millions of people is not a solution," stressing the need for emergency relief to Turkey and Syria "before this happens."

The patrols were sent out as Mitarachi urged for expanded monitoring equipment and extra fences to secure Europe's borders.

He declared on Friday at a European border management conference outside Athens that the construction of a contentious wall along the land border will go forward regardless of whether it was funded by the EU. By the end of the year, the 22-mile-long, 5-meter-high barrier will have doubled in size.

"The fence will be extended along the entire length of the [Evros] river so that we can protect the European continent from illegal flows," Mitarachi said.

The center-right Greek government has announced plans to purchase dozens of new coastguard vessels to protect Aegean Sea islands bordering the Turkish coast.

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, whose four-year tenure expires in July, has been considerably harder on migration than his leftist predecessor Alexis Tsipras.

The Greek government's policy, which includes forcible evictions or pushbacks of refugees near borders, has sparked worldwide condemnation, including from the EU. However, the government claimed that its policies were "strict but fair."