Refugees Heading to Europe After AKP Said Turkey Can no Longer Stop Them

Photos: AA

Click to read the article in Turkish / Kurdish

Following statements and news reports that Turkey will not stop refugees from heading to Europe anymore, mobility reportedly increased in border cities and in cities on the coast of the Aegean Sea.

Ömer Çelik, the spokesperson of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), said yesterday (February 27) that Turkey "cannot hold refugees anymore."

Çelik's statement came after an airstrike on Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) troops in Syria that claimed the lives of 33 soldiers.

Refugees heading to border villages in Edirne.

"As a result of the attacks, those in Turkey are moving towards Europe and there is also a movement towards Turkey from Syria. Our refugee policy is the same, but we are no longer able to hold refugees," he told CNN Türk.

The government has also ordered the police, coast guard and border security officials to stand down on refugees' land and sea crossings towards Europe, Reuters reported, citing a senior official from Turkey.

On more than one occasion, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan had said Turkey could sent millions refugees to Europe.

As of last night, refugees began heading to Edirne, a northwestern province bordering Greece and Bulgaria, the state-run Anadolu Agency (AA) reported. Refugees, including women and children, heading to border villages on foot, it said.

There is also increased mobility in the western provinces of İzmir, Çanakkale and Aydın as refugees are reportedly gathering in towns on the coast of the Aegean Sea.

In Çanakkale, which is less than 20 kilometers away from the Lesbos Island of Greece, people are reportedly gathering in Yeşil Liman, Babakale and Kadırga Koyu.

Refugees are gathering in Çeşme, Karaburun and Seferihisar in İzmir and Kuşadası and Dikili in Aydın, the AA reported. There is also increased mobility in İstanbul's Zeytinburnu district, where refugees are getting on buses to travel to border provinces, according to a report by Habertürk TV.

Refugees are heading to Lesbos island.

During the course of the war in Syria, thousand of refugees died trying to cross to Greece's islands prior to an 2016 agreement between Turkey and European Union (EU). According to the agreement, EU agreed to allocate six billion Euro for refugees in Turkey, while Ankara agreed to stop the refugee flow to Europe.

Turkey has been the largest host of Syrian refugees since the war erupted in the country in 2011. There are 3.6 million registered Syrians in the country, according to the Interior Ministry. (RT/VK)