Gov’t decides to expand fortified barrier along border; minister again claims Turkish authorities forcing migrants to cross into Greece

Members of Greece’s top government defense and foreign affairs council (KYSEA) on Tuesday approved of a plan to expand a fortified fence along the frontier with Turkey, in the northeast province of Thrace.

The decision comes amid a surge, over the past few months, of attempts by irregular migrants to clandestinely cross into Greece from neighboring Turkey.

The KYSEA session was chaired by the prime minister, and attended by relevant ministers and the armed forces’ leadership.

The goal is to expand the fortified fence/barrier to 80 kilometers.

In statements afterwards, Migration & Asylum Minister Notis Mitarachi said the Greek state will proceed with the barrier’s expansion regardless of whether the project is financed by the EU.

He again charged that Turkish authorities have brought groups of would-be migrants to the eastern bank of the Evros (Maritsa) River and formed them to cross into Greek territory, often abandoning such groups on river islets in order to blackmail Athens into evacuating them.