After Turkish authorities said they would no longer stop asylum seekers trying to get to Europe, hundreds of migrants have begun making their way on foot to areas in Turkey bordering the European Union (EU).
The announcement came on Thursday after Turkish troops faced an onslaught by Syrian government forces and their Russian allies on the northwest Syrian province of Idlib where the last rebels held.
Photo: Tülin Çetinkol.
Shortly after, 34 Turkish soldiers were killed in a bombardment in the province on Thursday, Turkey said it was opening its southern border for 72 hours and would allow Syrians from there free passage to Europe.
Turkish border police and coast guards have been ordered to stand down, the Daily Sabah reported. Many asylum seekers from Iraq, Iran and Afghanistan as well as Syrians, have set off for the border, the newspaper said.
Video: Tülin Çetinkol.
On Thursday night, hundreds of migrants began walking towards Edirne, the northwestern province that borders Greece and Bulgaria, and their numbers swelled on Friday morning, the state-run Anadolu news agency reported.
Many more are making their way to the Aegean coast, where a short boat ride could carry asylum seekers to Greek islands, Anadolu said.
Photo: Tülin Çetinkol.
According to Turkish media, Friday morning some buses arrived at the detention center in Aydın, a city in Western Turkey. Several police officers in uniform stood nearby as families boarded the buses. Also buses and taxis carried groups to border.
Turkey faces the potential arrival of a huge number of refugees from Idlib, which is home to an estimated 3 million civilians, more than 1 million of whom have been pushed toward the border by the Syrian government forces’ advance.
Video: Tülin Çetinkol
Turkey ıs already home to more than 5 million refugees from Syria and elsewhere.
