A group of refugees from Syria was shot dead by Turkish border guards



04/20/2016 3:18 PM


Eight Syrians, including women and children, were killed by Turkish border guards in the attempt to illegally cross the border. It is reported by The Times.



Mstyslav Chernov
The incident took place on April 17. A group of several people were moving along the route, which is usually used by the smugglers. Turkish border guards opened fire with intent to kill which caused death of eight people and injuries of several more people. 

This is not the first such case in the Turkish-Syrian border. On 31 March, The Times with reference to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that the Turkish border guards were shooting refugees attempting to escape the civil war in Syria. 

According to the organization, over the past four months 16 migrants including three children were killed by the border guards while attempting to cross the border. Officer of the organization "Free Syrian police", supported by the United Kingdom, as well as a Syrian smuggler living in Turkey said that the true number of victims was even more.

Later, this information was denied by the Turkish authorities. According to them, information about the Turkish border guards shoot Syrian refugees does not correspond to reality. This was said by the representative of the administration of the southeastern Sanliufra province, which is located on the border with Syria. "This is a complete misinformation ... Turkey has more than 2.7 million Syrian refugees, and against this background, such accusations seem immoral", - said the representative of the administration.

In 2015, the migration crisis in the European Union started. Refugees are going to Greece by several routes, including through Turkey and then through the Aegean Sea. This route has already been used by more than 850 thousand refugees. In just the past year more than a million migrants came into the EU.

As it was reported earlier, on 18 March, EU leaders agreed on a draft agreement to resolve the migration crisis that they intend to conclude with Turkey. German Chancellor Angela Merkel expressed support for the early commencement of the implementation of the plan for the return of migrants who came on the Greek island illegally back to Turkey, reported Reuters. "We have not set a date yet, but Turkey clearly understand that the resettlement plan "one for one" should begin within a few days", - said the politician. Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades was reported to be ready to veto an agreement between the EU and Turkey to permit the migration crisis. He opposed forcing negotiations on accession of the Cyprus Republic to the EU as long as the Turkish authorities will not open its ports to Cyprus and air harbor.

In March, Turkey and the EU leaders finally reached the agreement, according to which Ankara will take back any and all refugees who came to Greece by transit through the Turkish territory. In return, Ankara wants to get visa-free regime with Europe, acceleration of negotiations on the integration with the EU and financial assistance to overcome the migration crisis.

source: thetimes.co.uk


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