Greece closes customs post on land border with Turkey to stem migrant influx

Greek authorities suspended the operation of the customs post on the land border with Turkey on Friday, as groups of refugees and migrants were gathering on the Turkish side of the border, Greek national news agency AMNA reported.

About 400 people had queued the other side of Kastanies customs post, following press reports said Turkey decided to open its border gates after 33 Turkish soldiers were killed during an airstrike in Syria's northwestern province of Idlib on Thursday.

Turkish media reports saying that Turkey decided to no longer stop them from reaching Europe after the death of 33 Turkish soldiers in an airstrike in Syria's northwestern province of Idlib Thursday.

Greek police forces used tear gas to disperse a group of people who attempted to cross the borderline.

"I want to be clear: no illegal entries into Greece will be tolerated. We are increasing our border security," Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis tweeted on Friday.

"Greece does not bear any responsibility for the tragic events in Syria and will not suffer the consequences of decisions taken by others. I have informed the European Union of the situation," he added.

On Friday, Mitsotakis also had a telephone conversation with German Chancellor Angela Merkel to discuss the situation in Turkey and the movement of refugees to the Greek borders and briefed her on the initiatives taken by the Greek government, according to an e-mailed press statement issued from his office.

The Greek leader announced on Thursday that Greece was upgrading border controls to address the flows and the coronavirus spread. Greece has reported four confirmed COVID-19 cases so far.

On Friday, Greek police forces on the land border with Turkey were also increased, AMNA reported.

More than one million refugees and migrants have reached Greece since 2015, mainly coming from Turkish shores, seeking refuge in Europe from war and poverty.

Most of the migrants continued their trip to central and northern European countries until the Balkan route via Greece's northern borders was sealed in 2016, when an EU-Turkey agreement aimed to stem the influx was reached.

Despite a dramatic drop in numbers for several months, tens of thousands of people continue risking their lives to reach Greece each year, according to official data.

More than 42,000 refugees and migrants are currently on five Greek islands, according to Greek Citizen Protection statistics.