The Turkish government has announced that for the next 72 hours it will open its border with Syria and allow any and all migrants to go to Europe unhindered.
A senior official has claimed that the government of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has opened the borders for Syrian asylum seekers and other migrants and will not prevent anyone from heading to Europe by land or by sea, Reuters reports.
According to the news service, all Turkish border and police officials have been ordered by the government to stand down along with members of the Turkish coastguard.
The move comes after the Turkish government claims to expect a wave of migrants after around one million people were displaced in Idlib.
First lady Melania Trump decorates the White House for Christmas: ‘Home is Where the Heart Is’
Trump says he believes Hegseth ‘100%’ on Venezuelan drug boat strike denial amid allegations
Afghan suspect in National Guard attack was ‘radicalized’ after arriving to US, Noem says
Trump says ‘don’t read anything into it’ when asked about declaring Venezuela’s airspace closed
Trump downplays Venezuelan airspace ‘closure’ after Maduro phone call
Trump envoy Steve Witkoff heads to Moscow as Ukraine peace talks gain momentum
Over Half of Childless Women Do Not Want to Become Moms
Advocate warned Afghan evacuee was ‘not functional as a person’ months before National Guard shooting
Trump makes 11th-hour plea for Matt Van Epps over Aftyn Behn, whom he claims ‘hates Christianity’
Pope Leo says two-state solution ‘only solution’ to Israel-Palestine conflict
China Arrests 18 Church Leaders Amid Crackdown on Christianity
One of the Oldest Copies of Scripture Coming to the US
Sen Cory Booker marries fiancé Alexis Lewis in intimate DC ceremony
Ahead of ICE ops, New Orleans police leader lambasted for comments about enforcement of immigration law
Electricity Bills to Skyrocket This Holiday Season: Here’s Why
According to Turkish journalist Ragip Soylu, “Land and sea crossings to Europe would be free to pass for the NEXT 72 HOURS and Turkey will open the borders immediately.”
Following the signing of the migrant agreement, brokered in 2015 and came into effect in 2016, between the European Union and Turkey, President Erdogan and his ministers have made repeated threats to open the border.
Turkey, Hezbollah Order EU to ‘Kneel’ or ‘We Open the Gates and Send 3.6 Million Refugees Your Way’ https://t.co/xyRxrdVdak
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) October 11, 2019
Last year Erdogan made several threats to “open the gates” including a threat in September in which he demanded aid from European countries to build a “security zone” along the border to settle around one million asylum seekers.
First lady Melania Trump decorates the White House for Christmas: ‘Home is Where the Heart Is’
Trump says he believes Hegseth ‘100%’ on Venezuelan drug boat strike denial amid allegations
Afghan suspect in National Guard attack was ‘radicalized’ after arriving to US, Noem says
Trump says ‘don’t read anything into it’ when asked about declaring Venezuela’s airspace closed
Trump downplays Venezuelan airspace ‘closure’ after Maduro phone call
Trump envoy Steve Witkoff heads to Moscow as Ukraine peace talks gain momentum
Over Half of Childless Women Do Not Want to Become Moms
Advocate warned Afghan evacuee was ‘not functional as a person’ months before National Guard shooting
Trump makes 11th-hour plea for Matt Van Epps over Aftyn Behn, whom he claims ‘hates Christianity’
Pope Leo says two-state solution ‘only solution’ to Israel-Palestine conflict
China Arrests 18 Church Leaders Amid Crackdown on Christianity
One of the Oldest Copies of Scripture Coming to the US
Sen Cory Booker marries fiancé Alexis Lewis in intimate DC ceremony
Ahead of ICE ops, New Orleans police leader lambasted for comments about enforcement of immigration law
Electricity Bills to Skyrocket This Holiday Season: Here’s Why
“Give us logistical support, and we can build houses up to 30 kilometres into the north of Syria,” he said and added, “Either that happens, or we open the gates.”
As of September, EU spokeswoman Natasha Bertaud noted that the political bloc had paid Turkey 5.6 billion euros as part of the EU-Turkey migrant pact.
Greece is the likely first stop for any of the migrants heading to Europe in the next 72 hours and was already expecting a surge in migrant numbers this year, with Manos Logothetis, the government commissioner for the initial reception of refugees, predicting 100,000 by the end of 2020.
It is estimated that as many as 3.6 million Syrian asylum seekers are currently in Turkey.
Story cited here.
