Turkey allowed more than 76,000 migrants to cross into Europe

Migrants, who want to reach Europe through Greece, arrive by dingy along the coastal border in the Ayvacik district of Canakkale, Marmara region on February 28, 2020 [STRINGER/Demiroren News Agency (DHA)/AFP via Getty Images]

Some 76,358 migrants and asylum seekers have crossed the Pazarkule Border Crossing and entered Greece, Turkey’s Interior Minister, Suleyman Soylu, announced yesterday.

On Thursday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced that his country would open its doors to refugees wishing to cross into Europe, stressing that Ankara has no capacity to absorb a new wave of migrants.

This came after 33 Turkish soldiers were killed by Syrian forces in Idlib.

The Greek police fired tear gas and barricaded the border with barbed wire to prevent thousands of migrants who were attempting to cross the border. One Syrian was killed as a result.

Greek government spokesman, Stelios Petsas, said the country “faced an organised, mass and illegal attempt to violate its borders and it withstood this attempt.”

Read: Greece pushes back migrants after Turkish border ‘onslaught’

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