Kastanies

Greek authorities believe Turkish authorities are starting to evacuate the migrants sent to the border in the northeastern Evros region to try to cross into Europe.

Shortly after midnight on Thursday, migrants who have been camping out on the Turkish side of the fence collected their tents and other objects and set them on fire inside the forest of Kastanies.

The Turkish government's decision on Wednesday to close its borders with Greece and Bulgaria as a measure against the coronavirus pandemic is seen to mark the end of the three-week migrant crisis in the Evros region that pitted it against Athens and Brussels.

Clashes broke out on Greece's border with Turkey before dawn Wednesday, after about 500 migrants attempted to break down a border fence and enter Greece.

Greek police said they used tear gas to repel the push south of the Kastanies border crossing. They said Turkish authorities also fired tear gas at the Greek border. The clashes began at 2 a.m. and lasted for roughly two hours.

Guards and police holding the northeastern Greek land border with Turkey thwarted what authorities say was an organized push to breach the frontier in the early hours of Wednesday.

As Turkey persists in what is seen as a strategy of escalating tensions, Greece continues to closely monitor Ankara's moves in the Aegean and the Eastern Mediterranean and at the Evros land border, seeking to convey a strong message that there will be no letup in the defense of its sovereign rights and borders.

Greek border units trying to stop crowds of migrants from pushing their way in from Turkey have hit on a new defense against tear gas unleashed on them from the Turkish side of the frontier — monster fans.

Citizens' Protection Minister Michalis Chrysochoidis and Frontex Executive Director Fabrice Leggeri were at the Kastanies crossing on the Greek-Turkish border at Evros on Thursday morning to oversee the deployment of dozens of guards from the European border agency.

The Greek Police (ELAS) is concerned about a possible mass push by undocumented migrants at the Turkish land border, assisted by Turkish officials, Kathimerini understands.

ELAS' worries stem from witness accounts by both police and armed forces officers according to which Turkish forces have opened up a road parallel to the banks of the River Evros to help migrants pass.

Clashes between Greek police and migrants amassed at the Greece-Turkey border crossing of Kastanies erupted Saturday morning. Greek police used tear gas to push back the migrants.

Turkish police also threw tear gas at Greek police, but, for the first time, also targeted the migrants, apparently aiming at pushing them away from this part of the border.

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) will support its Greek chapter with an initial 300,000 euros, its president Francesco Rocca said on Thursday after his visit to the Kastanies border station at the Greek-Turkish border in the Evros region.