Greece has fenced off large stretches of its 212-kilometre border with Turkey. AP
Greece has fenced off large stretches of its 212-kilometre border with Turkey. AP
Greece has fenced off large stretches of its 212-kilometre border with Turkey. AP
Greece has fenced off large stretches of its 212-kilometre border with Turkey. AP

Twelve migrants die on Turkey-Greece border


Simon Rushton
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Turkey has accused its neighbour Greece of allowing 12 migrants to die in the cold by stripping them of their clothes and then pushing them back across the border.

The charges from Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu threaten to increase tension between the two amid other disputes.

Greece dismissed the accusations as "utter nonsense".

Mr Soylu posted blurred images on Twitter showing partially naked bodies lying by the roadside.

“Twelve of the 22 migrants pushed back by Greek border units” froze to death after being “stripped [of] their clothes and shoes”, he wrote.

The “EU is remediless, weak and void of humane feelings”.

Turkey fears EU countries are ignoring its concerns that its refugee camps near Syria will be overrun by desperate Afghans fleeing the Taliban after their return to power.

Mr Soylu said the images were taken near Turkey's western border town of Ipsala. The regional governor's office said 11 of the migrants were found frozen to death.

Another who was taken to hospital with frostbite “could not be saved and died”, the governor's office said without identifying the nationalities of the migrants.

Greece's Migration Minister Notis Mitarachi did not dispute the 12 deaths but dismissed Turkey's version of events as “false propaganda".

“These migrants never made it to the border. Any suggestion they did, or indeed were pushed back into Turkey is utter nonsense,” Mr Mitarachi said.

“Rather than pushing out unfounded claims, Turkey needs to live up to its obligations and work to prevent these dangerous journeys.”

  • Refugees and migrants walk in a dirty road heading to the Turkish-Greek border and trying to enter Europe, in Edirne, Turkey. EPA
    Refugees and migrants walk in a dirty road heading to the Turkish-Greek border and trying to enter Europe, in Edirne, Turkey. EPA
  • A migrant carries his baby as they walk on railways toward Meritsa river, near Edirne, to take a boat to attempt to enter Greece by crossing the river. AFP
    A migrant carries his baby as they walk on railways toward Meritsa river, near Edirne, to take a boat to attempt to enter Greece by crossing the river. AFP
  • A UNHCR first reception center for the refugee and migrant arrivals in Skala Sykamias is seen on fire as local residents block the area around it. AFP
    A UNHCR first reception center for the refugee and migrant arrivals in Skala Sykamias is seen on fire as local residents block the area around it. AFP
  • Locals, who prevent migrants on a dinghy from disembarking at the port of Thermi, beat a journalist, as a woman tries to stop them, on the island of Lesbos, Greece. REUTERS
    Locals, who prevent migrants on a dinghy from disembarking at the port of Thermi, beat a journalist, as a woman tries to stop them, on the island of Lesbos, Greece. REUTERS
  • Greek riot police and the army hold positions as migrants toss rocks and other projectiles on the Greek-Turkish border gate in Kastanies, Greece. Getty Images
    Greek riot police and the army hold positions as migrants toss rocks and other projectiles on the Greek-Turkish border gate in Kastanies, Greece. Getty Images
  • Refugees and migrants are rescued by rope from an island in the middle of Evros river after becoming stucked for the past two days after trying to cross from Turkey to Greece in Edirne, Turkey. Getty Images
    Refugees and migrants are rescued by rope from an island in the middle of Evros river after becoming stucked for the past two days after trying to cross from Turkey to Greece in Edirne, Turkey. Getty Images
  • A hooded migrant who, along with other migrants wants to cross into Greece from Turkey's Pazarkule border crossing, prepares to throw a stone at a Greek riot police officer, in Kastanies, Greece. REUTERS
    A hooded migrant who, along with other migrants wants to cross into Greece from Turkey's Pazarkule border crossing, prepares to throw a stone at a Greek riot police officer, in Kastanies, Greece. REUTERS
  • Migrant children from Syria are seen on a road side near Turkey's Ipsala border crossing with Greece's Kipi, in Edirne, Turkey. REUTERS
    Migrant children from Syria are seen on a road side near Turkey's Ipsala border crossing with Greece's Kipi, in Edirne, Turkey. REUTERS
  • Migrants receive food distributed by non-governmental organizations near the Pazarkule border gate in Edirne, at the Turkish-Greek border. AP Photo
    Migrants receive food distributed by non-governmental organizations near the Pazarkule border gate in Edirne, at the Turkish-Greek border. AP Photo
  • Migrants cross Meric river as they walk towards the Turkey's Pazarkule border crossing with Greece's Kastanies, near Edirne, Turkey. REUTERS
    Migrants cross Meric river as they walk towards the Turkey's Pazarkule border crossing with Greece's Kastanies, near Edirne, Turkey. REUTERS
  • A group of refugees set up tens against the wind and gather around a fire as they wait to cross the Meric (Evros) river to reach Greece at the Turkish-Greek border, in Edirne, Turkey. EPA
    A group of refugees set up tens against the wind and gather around a fire as they wait to cross the Meric (Evros) river to reach Greece at the Turkish-Greek border, in Edirne, Turkey. EPA
  • Refugees are being carried by cart heading to the Turkish-Greek border and trying to enter Europe, in Edirne, Turkey. EPA
    Refugees are being carried by cart heading to the Turkish-Greek border and trying to enter Europe, in Edirne, Turkey. EPA
  • Greek riot police and the army hold positions as migrants toss rocks and other projectiles on the Greek-Turkish border gate in Kastanies, Greece. Getty Images
    Greek riot police and the army hold positions as migrants toss rocks and other projectiles on the Greek-Turkish border gate in Kastanies, Greece. Getty Images
  • Members of the Greek far-right hold a demonstration in front of the Greek-Turkish border gate in Kastanies, Greece. Getty Images
    Members of the Greek far-right hold a demonstration in front of the Greek-Turkish border gate in Kastanies, Greece. Getty Images
  • Greek border guards stands behind the border fences in Edirne, Turkey. Getty Images
    Greek border guards stands behind the border fences in Edirne, Turkey. Getty Images
  • Refugees and migrants from various countries wait on the shoreline for a boat to cross the Evros River in an attempt to reach Greece from Turkey in Edirne, Turkey. Getty Images
    Refugees and migrants from various countries wait on the shoreline for a boat to cross the Evros River in an attempt to reach Greece from Turkey in Edirne, Turkey. Getty Images

Relations between the two hit crisis in 2020 as Turkey began exploring for natural gas in Eastern Mediterranean waters claimed by Greece and its fellow EU member, Cyprus.

The two sides continued to accuse each other of trying to escalate tensions by staging air and sea exercises around islands whose ownership has been under dispute for most of the past century.

These tensions have been compounded by Ankara's claims that Greece is breaching international conventions by intercepting migrant boats in the Aegean and then sending them back to Turkey.

The UN refugee agency estimates more than 2,500 people died or went missing at sea as they tried to reach Europe from North Africa and Turkey last year.

Updated: February 02, 2022, 10:40 PM