A Turkey-backed Syrian fighter celebrates in the Idlib province town of Saraqib, but the rebel counter offensive could be short-lived
MARCH 1st 2020
By Patryk Krych | The World Daily
Thousands of Refugees amassing to cross over into Greece from Turkey, as an outcry over Syria conflict
As an apparent attempt to put pressure on the EU over the crisis going on in Syria, Turkey has decided to open up its borders with Greece, allowing over 100,000 migrants, as well as refugees, to cross over.
The incident follows harsh conflict in the country of Syria, specifically in the Idlib province which has been an area under threat for a long while now. At least 33 Turkish soldiers were killed as a cause of a Syrian government attack in the opposition-held province. The attack has led to a severe escalation in the ongoing conflicts in the country, between the Turkish-backed opposition, and the Russian-backed government of Syria.
Rahmi Dogan, the governor of Turkey's neighbouring Hatay province said that "Thirty-three of our soldiers were martyred as a result of the air strike... by the forces of the Assad regime."
While already quite severe, the EU has warned that there is always the possibility for further escalation of the crisis. "There is a risk of sliding into a major open international military confrontation," tweeted Josep Borrell, the EU foreign policy chief. "It is also causing unbearable humanitarian suffering and putting civilians in danger."
It is believed that Turkey’s choice to open their borders with the EU was an attempt at drawing more attention to the growing conflict, demanding that something more be done about it. The Turks have been backing the opposition against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad since December of 2011, and have been caught up in many struggles between them and al-Assad’s allied Russian forces. Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan himself had announced he was going to be allowing people to cross the border points between Turkey and Greece on Friday, following the intensification of conflict in Syria.
The amassing number of people at the borders became massive almost immediately after. As a response to the high rise in the number of people at the borders, Greek authorities have responded by attempting to drive the migrants away with stun grenades and tear gas. The pressures but on the borders have increased tremendously since. It was announced on Sunday that the total number of people who’d crossed over had reached 100,577 by Turkish interior minister Suleyman Soylu – all of which had left through the city of Edirne.
Greek border police throw tear gas canisters and stun grenades to send away migrants trying to enter the country (Picture:Getty)
“Most of those on the move are men but we are also seeing many family groups travelling with young children,” said the IOM Turkey chief Lado Gvilava. “We’re distributing meal boxes and other basic supplies in the city but the temperatures are dropping to nearly zero and the wind is quite bad so we’re concerned about these vulnerable people who are exposed to the elements.”
According to officials, 66 migrant arrests were made on Friday, followed by 70 arrests on Saturday. Seventeen of the arrests were of the sort that hadn’t been seen in nearly 6 years -since 2014-, those being arrests for entering the country without legal right. All seventeen individuals were Afghans.
Greek border guard use teargas to push back migrants (Picture:AP)
Fahrettin Altun, Turkey's communications director, told Reuters that Turkey had “no choice” but to open its borders with Greece. The country had not received anywhere near enough support from the EU when it had to take in 3.7 million Syrian refugees, and the only way to bring more attention to the issues was to make it the equal problem of the EU, and the rest of the world.
President Erdogan spoke further on the matter on Saturday, claiming that they would not interfere with migrants and refugees hoping to make their way to Europe, nor will they “close the gates to refugees” who still need help. “The European Union has to keep its promises. We are not obliged to look after and feed so many refugees.”
By Patryk Krych | The World Daily
