The Migration Minister said that Greece has barricaded over 150,000 undocumented immigrants on its land and maritime border in 2022. “The entrance of 154,102 irregular migrants was averted when the start of the year. However, around 50,000 attempted to invade Greece in August alone,” Mr. Notis Mitarachi said. Border control is a main priority for the conservative Greek government that came to power in 2019 and will seek re-election next year.
In August 2022, the government declared plans to extend a 40-kilometer-long wall along the Greek-Turkish border at Evros by another 80 kilometers as efforts to control the flow of migrants. Besides, it will install thermal cameras and deploy an additional 250 border guards. Greece is often the country of selection for people fleeing Africa and the Middle East to try to reach a more useful life in the European Union.
Thousands arrive via Turkey by crossing the Evros River and over the narrow and perilous Aegean Sea, separating the traditional competitors.
Charity communities have accused Athens of illegally turning back migrants or forcing them over the border to Turkey, something Greece’s conservative government has repeatedly denied. Mitarachi, on September 4, 2022, refused Athens was involvement in illegal pushbacks and accused Turkey of engaging in violent push forwards.
In August 2022, Athens charged Turkey with forcibly pushing stranded migrants onto a small Greek islet on the river. Rights groups at the time stated a five-year-old child in the group had died after the Greek government denied that the migrants had been on Greek territory for days. Mitarachi has cast doubt on the incident. However, he insisted that the family in question had declared having four children and that they were all rescued by Greek police.
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