KASTANIES, Greece — The United Nations migration organization says at least 13,000 people have massed on Turkey's land border with Greece after Turkey officially declared its western borders were open to migrants and refugees hoping to head into the European Union.
The U.N.'s International Organization For Migration said Sunday that by the previous evening, its staff working along the land border had observed groups of people between several dozens and 3,000 trying to find a way across the land frontier.
“The number of migrants moving through Edirne towards the border grew through the day as cars, taxis and buses arrived from Istanbul,” U.N.'s International Organization Turkey Chief of Mission Lado Gvilava said Sunday. "Most of those on the move are men but we are also seeing many family groups traveling with young children."
On Friday, Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said his country's borders with Europe were opened. His announcement makes good on a longstanding threat to let refugees into Europe. But it's a dramatic departure from current policy, and apparently an attempt to pressure Europe for more aid to deal with the 3.5 million refugees living in Turkey.
It also comes amid a military escalation in neighboring Syria. Syria’s official news agency says Turkish forces shot down two Syrian jets in northwestern Syria.
SANA said Sunday that the jets were targeted over the Idlib region and that the pilots ejected with parachutes and landed safely.
The announcement came amid a military escalation in Syria's Idlib province that has led to growing direct clashes between Turkish and Syrian forces. It also came shortly after Syria announced it was closing its airspace for any flights or drones across the country's northwest.
It said any aircraft that penetrates Syrian airspace will be treated as hostile and shot down.
