KASTANIES/LESBOS, Greece (Reuters) – Hundreds of migrants headed through permeable borders to Greece from Turkey on Sunday as thousands more gathered on the Turkish side seeking entry after Ankara relaxed curbs on their movement.
Migrants from Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan and Palestinian territories arrive on a dinghy near the city of Mytilene, after crossing part of the Aegean Sea from Turkey to the island of Lesbos, Greece, March 1, 2020. REUTERS/Elias Marcou
At least 500 people had arrived by sea on three Greek islands close to the Turkish coast within a few hours on Sunday morning. Seven boatloads reached Lesbos with more than 300 on board, four arrived on Samos with 150 and two on Chios with a combined total of 70-80 people, a police official said.
On the mainland further north, groups waded across a river to the Greek side at Kastanies. Reuters reporters saw groups of up to 30 people, including an Afghan mother with a five-day old infant, on the side of a road, having crossed the river hours earlier.
Turkey said on Thursday it would no longer restrain hundreds of thousands of asylum seekers in its territory from reaching Europe despite an agreement to do so reached with the EU in 2016. Its announcement triggered an almost instant rush to the borders it shares with European Union member Greece.
Turkey’s turnabout came after an air strike killed 33 Turkish soldiers in neighboring northwest Syria where Ankara has deployed forces to help