Migrant Numbers Decrease on Turkey-Greece Border | Hamdi Firat Buyuk | Sarajevo | BIRN | March 19, 2020The number of migrants trying to cross the border from Turkey into Greece border has decreased dramatically amid the coronavirus crisis, but some are refusing to abandon their attempts to get into the EU.
Far fewer migrants have been massing at the border between Turkey and Greece and some have left for the Turkish towns where they were previously accommodated, media have reported.
Migrants had flocked to the border areas as well as to sea ports after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced last month that Ankara would not stop them crossing the border in the wake of the country's heavy losses in the Syrian war.
Greek newspaper Ekathimerini reported on Wednesday that the number of migrants at the border areas has fallen to around 2,000.
However, tensions continue to flare, and Ekathimerini reported that Turkish and Greek border guards used tear gas on Wednesday during a clash as some 500 migrants tried to cross the border.
President Erdogan's visit to Brussels last week for a meeting with EU leaders and a video conference with Germany Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Tuesday ended without a comprehensive solution for the migrant crisis.
Refugees in Edirne in Turkey try to reach the Greek border. Photo: EPA-EFE/TOLGA BOZOGLU
