Greece is stepping up its border controls

Greece is stepping up its border controls

The Greek government has declared the highest alarm level at the borders because of the newly arriving refugees. There is target practice in the east of the Aegean.
Greek security forces prevented illegal crossings of smaller migrant groups at night. All in all, the night on the Turkish-Greek border was quiet, reported the Greek state television ERT.

In the morning, eyewitnesses reported from the Greek side of the border that there were essentially fewer vagrants on the Turkish side of the fringe crossing. As indicated by columnists, individuals in different spots would attempt to cross the outskirt into Greece. Others would have set up little shelters around two kilometres away on the Turkish side.

Following the opening of the border initiated by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the number of people arriving on the islands every day has increased: averaging 100 since the beginning of the year, 700 people arrived on the islands on Sunday.

To stop illegal border crossings, the Greek government has issued the highest alert for its security forces and has put numerous units on standby. Among other things, patrols on land and water in the northeast of the country are to be strengthened, as Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on Sunday evening after a crisis meeting of the National Security Council.

Units of the Greek army are to begin extensive target practice on the islands in the east of the Aegean, according to Greek state television, citing the Ministry of Defense in Athens. From the perspective of commentators, the exercises are a government response to the increasing number of refugees who have fled from Turkey to the islands of Lesbos, Chios and Samos.

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