Athens: Greece Said some 40,000 illegal on Saturday migrants was barred from entering the country along the northern border with turkey since the beginning of the year.
Greece is often a favorite country for migrants migrating from Africa and the Middle East to try to access a better life in the European Union.
Many people come through Turkey to the Avros border and in 2020 Athens Border controls were strengthened after a large number of migrants attempted to cross the Avros River to the north.
Athens accused Ankara For not doing enough to deter smugglers from sending migrants across the border – often in small boats making the dangerous journey.
Greece’s Civil Defense Minister Takis Theodoricakos said on Saturday that thousands of illegal migrants have been stopped from entering the country at the Avros border this year.
“In the first four months of 2022, about 40,000 illegal immigrants have tried to enter the country illegally,” he told Sky TV, specifying that they were stopped in Avros.
“We effectively remove any threat to our country, to our borders.”
He also sent a message to Turkey, saying it “is not allowed to tolerate smugglers of desperate people, nor to promote such conditions”.
The Avros River, which separates Greece and Turkey, has seen increased traffic in recent weeks as water levels remain low.
A Migration Ministry source said migration flows across Greece in the first four months of 2022 were about 30 percent higher than in the same period last year.
In March 2020, Greece increased border patrols and installed cameras, radar and 40 kilometers (25-mile) of steel fencing more than five meters (16 ft) high in some areas.
According to ministry figures, more than 3,000 asylum seekers have arrived in Greece so far this year, including more than 1,100 last month.
Greece is often a favorite country for migrants migrating from Africa and the Middle East to try to access a better life in the European Union.
Many people come through Turkey to the Avros border and in 2020 Athens Border controls were strengthened after a large number of migrants attempted to cross the Avros River to the north.
Athens accused Ankara For not doing enough to deter smugglers from sending migrants across the border – often in small boats making the dangerous journey.
Greece’s Civil Defense Minister Takis Theodoricakos said on Saturday that thousands of illegal migrants have been stopped from entering the country at the Avros border this year.
“In the first four months of 2022, about 40,000 illegal immigrants have tried to enter the country illegally,” he told Sky TV, specifying that they were stopped in Avros.
“We effectively remove any threat to our country, to our borders.”
He also sent a message to Turkey, saying it “is not allowed to tolerate smugglers of desperate people, nor to promote such conditions”.
The Avros River, which separates Greece and Turkey, has seen increased traffic in recent weeks as water levels remain low.
A Migration Ministry source said migration flows across Greece in the first four months of 2022 were about 30 percent higher than in the same period last year.
In March 2020, Greece increased border patrols and installed cameras, radar and 40 kilometers (25-mile) of steel fencing more than five meters (16 ft) high in some areas.
According to ministry figures, more than 3,000 asylum seekers have arrived in Greece so far this year, including more than 1,100 last month.