Greece Builds New Anti-Migrants Fence on Its Border With Turkey

Greece’s Public Order Minister Michalis Chrisochoidis Monday announced that his country will allocate 63 million euros for the construction of the fence of about 30 kilometers long and five meters high that will be installed in the southern part of the land border with Turkey.

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Intended to contain the entry of migrants and refugees into Greek territory, the upper part of the fence will have barbed wire. Several watchtowers will also be installed to control migrant movements in Turkey.

With these devices, President Kyriakos Mitsotakis' administration wants to shield the border against any illegal crossing attempts.

In February, Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced the opening of his country's borders with the European Union and invited tens of thousands of refugees and migrants to go to Europe through the Greek-Turkish border.

For about twenty days, amid a verbal war between the two countries, tens of thousands of migrants clashed with the Greek Police and Army, which repelled them with massive use of tear gas and firearms.

Between February 28 and March 28, about 59,000 people were prevented from illegally entering through violent security actions, which left two migrants dead and hundreds injured.

The Greek authorities will also begin the repair of the existing fence in the northern part of the border, which is 12.5 kilometers long and was built in 2012.