(1 Mar 2020) People continued to try and cross from Turkey into Greece on Sunday, after Turkey declared its western borders were open to migrants hoping to head into the European Union.
Some braved the freezing waters of the Evros River, including a man swimming back to the Turkish side after having been stuck overnight with a group of people in the no man's land of a river island between the Greek and Turkish border.
The United Nations said Sunday that at least 13,000 people were massed on the Turkish land border with Greece, after Turkey officially declared its western borders were open to migrants and refugees hoping to head into the European Union.
Turkey's decision to open the borders with Greece came amid a military escalation in Syria's northwest that has led to growing direct clashes between Turkish and Syrian forces.
Greek authorities fired tear gas and stun grenades through Saturday to prevent repeated attempts by a crowd of more than 4,000 people massed at the border crossing in Kastanies to cross.
Others were making the short but often perilous sea crossing from the Turkish coast to the Greek islands.
At least three dinghies carrying migrants arrived on the Greek island of Lesbos Sunday morning.
Initial figures collected by Greece's Merchant Marine Ministry from the coast guard on eastern Aegean islands showed a clear increase in the number of people arriving by dinghies from the nearby Turkish coast.
Turkish Interior Minister Suleman Soylu tweeted that 76,385 refugees had left Turkey via Edirne, the province bordering Greece and Bulgaria as of Sunday morning.
But there was no evidence to support his claim. Greece has shut its border, and there were a few dozen arrests of people who managed to cross through the border, Greek authorities have said.
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