Greek police clash with refugees at Turkish border

Greek police have clashed with refugees attempting to break into Greece from Turkey, which has stopped holding the refugees back.

According to Press TV, footage released by the Greek government on Monday showed Greek officers firing tear gas and clashing with refugees on the Turkish border.

A Greek government source said on Sunday that the Greek army and police had stopped thousands from entering Greek territory.

“From 06:00 Saturday morning to 06:00 Sunday morning, 9,972 illegal entries have been averted in the Evros area,” the government source said, referring to the northeastern region along the Turkey border.

Huge crowds tried to cross into Greece via the Kastanies Forest in the early hours of Sunday, the source said.

Greece’s Skai TV said Greeks were using loudspeakers in the Kastanies border area to tell migrants, in English and Arabic, “The borders are shut!”

Greece has said it will not allow another mass influx of refugees. “This country is not a free-for-all,” Migration Minister Notis Mittarachi told Greece’s Ant1 TV.

Nearly 10,000 refugees have been blocked from entering Greece since Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said his country would allow refugees into Europe in an attempt to pressure European Union (EU) governments over the Syrian conflict across its southern border.

ME