Gov’t reiterates plans to extend border fence with Turkey

The government has reiterated plans to extend a cement and barbed-wire fence along the country’s northern border with Turkey to prevent migrants from entering.

The 40-kilometres fence will be extended by another 140 kilometres, Citizen Protection Takis Theodorikakos said during a visit in the Evros region.

The fence, initially installed in 2012, was last extended in 2021, a year after tens of thousands of asylum seekers tried to cross into Greece’s northern border, when Turkey said it would no longer prevent them from doing so.

According to police data, in the first seven months of the year, authorities arrested 7,484 refugees and migrants, of which 3,554 were in Evros.

Theorodikakos said the project aims to send a clear message of Greece’s determination “against those who invest in human suffering to serve concealed interests” and “against those who weaponise migration in an attempt to blackmail Europe”.

The conservative government also plans to hire 250 border guards and upgrade its surveillance systems in the area.

In August, the national security council already decided to fence the entire length of the Evros border with Turkey. [Reuters, Ekathimerini]