Greek authorities say they have stopped about 10,000 migrants and refugees from illegally crossing the border from neighboring Turkey. It came after Turkey's president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, announced he was relaxing border controls to let migrants reach Europe following the death of at least 33 Turkish soldiers in Syria.
Greece Says It Turned Back Thousands Of Migrants Trying To Cross From Turkey
1
Migrants from Afghanistan arrive on the Greek island of Lesbos on March 2.
2
The Afghan migrants landed in a dinghy on a beach near the village of Skala Sikamias on the Greek island of Lesbos after crossing part of the Aegean Sea from Turkey.
3
Migrants from Afghanistan walk along the seaside after arriving near the village of Skala Sikamias on the Greek island of Lesbos on March 2. A day earlier, Greek police said at least 1,000 migrants have reached Greece's Eastern Aegean islands.
4
An Afghan man carries his son after arriving on the island of Lesbos. Under a 2016 agreement with the European Union, Turkey had restricted migration flows from Syria and other countries to Europe.
5
Refugees walk away from the Greek-Turkish border after after being prevented from entering Greece on March 2 near the Meric River.
6
Migrants hoping to reach Greece receive food near the Pazarkule border crossing near Edirne, Turkey.
7
Child refugees from Syria are seen near Turkey's Ipsala border crossing with Greece on March 2. Amid an escalation of the Syrian conflict, Turkish media reported that hundreds of migrants were flocking to Turkey's borders with Greece and Bulgaria after a senior official was quoted as saying Ankara had decided "not to stop Syrian refugees from reaching Europe."
8
Migrants try to cut the border fence at the Turkish-Greek border near the Pazarkule border gate near Edirne, Turkey, on March 2.
9
Migrants from Pakistan sit on a roadside near Turkey's Ipsala border crossing with Greece on March 2. In 2016, the European Union pledge to provide 6 billion euros in aid to Turkey to house refugees and migrants. The EU said it expected Turkey to "uphold" its side of the deal following the "dangerous" military escalation in Syria.
10
A migrant runs to avoid tear gas fired by Greek police during clashes near the Pazarkule crossing near Edirne, at the Turkish-Greek border, on March 2.
11
Migrants engulfed in a cloud of tear gas near Turkey's Pazarkule border crossing on March 2. Greek government spokesman Stelios Petsas accused Turkey of trying to orchestrate a crisis and said "this movement is guided and encouraged by Turkey."
12
Migrants wait on the Greek-Turkish border near the village Kastanies on March 2.
13
Migrants from Iran are detained by Greek authorities in the village of Kastanies near the Greek-Turkish border on March 1.
14
A child lies on a sack as migrants rest on their way to Greece near the Pazarakule border crossing near Edirne, Turkey.
15
Migrants gather at Meric river near the Pazarkule border gate near Edirne, Turkey, on March 1.
16
Young migrants warm themselves at a bonfire close to a highway near the Ipsala custom station at the Turkish-Greek border as they try to enter Greece, in Ipsala, on March 1.
17
Refugees rest in a bus station in Edirne, Turkey, on March 1, as they wait and hope to enter Greece.
18
Greece's military fired tear-gas canisters amid clashes with migrants near the Kastanies checkpoint at the Greek-Turkish border on March 1.
19
Refugees returned to the Turkish side of the border with the help of a rope after being stuck on a small island on the Meric River.
20
A migrant carries his baby as they walk on a railway toward the Meric river, near Edirne, to take a boat to attempt to enter Greece by crossing the river on March 1.
21
Refugees and migrants were stranded near the Ipsala customs station at the Turkish-Greek border as they tried to enter Greece.
22
Migrant children wait near Skala Sykamineas on the Greek island of Lesbos after crossing the Aegean sea between Turkey and Greece on March 1.
23
A group of migrants rest by a fire as they wait to cross the Meric river to reach Greece at the Turkish-Greek border on March 1.
24
Migrants gather inside the buffer zone of the Turkey-Greece border, at Pazarkule, in the Edirne district, on February 29.
25
An injured man walks away from clashes with Greek police in the buffer zone along the Turkey-Greece border near Edirne, Turkey.