The goal is to illegally enter Greek and EU territory in a bid to reach preferred destinations in central and western Europe.
Greek leadership has called the latest crisis an “asymmetrical threat” against the country’s sovereignty, days after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan made good on his long-standing threat to flood Greece and the rest of Europe with would-be asylum seekers and irregular migrants — practically all of whom are from Muslim majority countries, and with the vast majority also being young men.
As seen in previous such crises, women and children are pushed to the front of organized efforts to breach borders, and also prominently positioned in the front of migrant-laden boats operated by people smuggling rings.
In a show of solidarity and support for Greek personnel defending the country’s and European borders, the Archbishop of Athens and All Greece, His Beatitude Ieronymos, on Wednesday arrived in Evros prefecture, accompanied by four local Metropolitans.
Greek Education Minister Niki Kerameos was also in the Evros region on Thursday, visiting a special education school in the port city of Alexandroupolis, the capital of the Evros prefecture, while public order minister Michalis Chrysochoidis was also in the area to inspect the frontier and the police operation set up to prevent the entry of undocumented migrants.
The Evros, or Maritsa River, mostly delineates the land border between Greece and Turkey in the Thrace province.