Turkey Boasts 'Millions' of Migrants Now Heading for Europe
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan issues warning after opening flood gates at border
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Turkey has boasted that "millions" of migrants are now heading for the European Union via the Greek-Turkish border and will soon flood Europe after the country opened the gates.
Speaking during a televised address, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned that his regime has no intention of stopping the flow of immigrants, currently overwhelming Greek border authorities as they cross into Greece illegally.
"Since we have opened the borders, the number of refugees heading toward Europe has reached hundreds of thousands," Erdogan bragged from Ankara during his speech.
"This number will soon be in the millions,” he added, Greek daily newspaper Kathimerini reports.
"After we opened the doors, there were multiple calls saying 'close the doors,'" the Turkish leader continued.
"I told them 'it’s done. It’s finished. The doors are now open.'"
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"Now, you will have to take your share of the burden,” Erdogan added as he directly warned EU leaders.
Late Sunday night, Süleyman Soylu, Turkey's interior minister, said that 100,577 migrants had left Turkey through Erdine, crossing the border into Greece.
Despite the regime’s claims that hundreds of thousands of migrants are already amassed at the Greek border, figures from the International Organization for Migration suggest that these figures are vastly inflated.
According to the IOM, closer to 13,000 migrants have now arrived at the Turkish-Greek border.
The Greek government announced Monday that it is preparing for 150,000 migrants to try and reach its various islands in the Eastern Aegean Sea.
Over 1000 migrants have already managed to land on Greek islands in the Eastern Aegean after slipping past Greece’s coastguard.
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Over the weekend, Greece’s Deputy Defense Minister Alkiviadis Stefanis announced that Greek border authorities managed to stop around 9,600 unsuccessful attempts by migrants to breach the border illegally.
According to the top official, the majority of the migrants gathering at Greece's border are military-aged men.
The migrants set fires and attacked Greek border security forces.
Unconfirmed video footage, allegedly filmed at the border, shows violent mobs shouting: "The dogs can’t see us anymore.
"Burn them. Burn them. Allahu Akbar."
“The dogs can’t see us anymore. Burn them. Burn them. Allahu Akbar”
— Imam of Peace (@Imamofpeace) March 2, 2020
The video is reportedly from Greece. Please post news articles below, if any. pic.twitter.com/BlXCFoKPO0
"It will be difficult to stop the massive flow of people who have set out on their journey,” an internal report from the EU's border protection agency, Frontex, said.
"That is why we can expect an increase in pressure in the coming days — even in the event that Turkish authorities act to prevent people from crossing the border."
