Thousands of Migrants Attempt to Cross Into Europe From Turkey

After an announcement by the Turkish government that it would allow refugees to enter Europe, thousands set off for the border with Greece, attempting to leave by land or by sea.

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In Focus

Alan Taylor Alan Taylor is a senior editor at The Atlantic, where he oversees the Photo section.

March 2nd, 2020 March 3rd, 2020

Last week, the Turkish government announced that it was no longer able to support a deal made with the European Union in 2016 to prevent migrants from crossing into Europe. Shortly afterward, thousands of men, women, and children set off for the border with Greece, attempting to leave Turkey by land or by sea, only to meet barbed-wire fences and security forces. Turkey has been hosting several million refugees from Syria, as well as migrants and refugees from Africa and other parts of the Middle East. Turkish officials said they were unable to cope with a recent increase in refugees, following escalations in the fighting in Syria, while others have accused Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan of “weaponizing” the migrants, pressuring the EU to support Turkey’s operations in Syria.

Thousands of Migrants Attempt to Cross Into Europe From Turkey

After an announcement by the Turkish government that it would allow refugees to enter Europe, thousands set off for the border with Greece, attempting to leave by land or by sea.

1. Migrants, hoping to enter Europe through Greece, board a small inflatable boat on the Turkish coast in Çanakkale province, across part of the Aegean Sea from the Greek island of Lesbos, on February 28, 2020.

2. This picture taken from the Greek side of the Greece-Turkey border near Kastanies shows migrants waiting on the Turkish side on March 2, 2020.

3. Migrants walk toward Greece along the Turkey-Greece border near Pazarkule, in Edirne district, on March 1, 2020.

4. Migrants walk toward Turkey's Pazarkule border crossing with Greece's Kastanies near Edirne, Turkey, on March 1, 2020.

5. A man holds his three sons as migrants from Afghanistan arrive on a dinghy on a beach near the village of Skala Sikamias after crossing from Turkey to the island of Lesbos, Greece, on March 2, 2020.

6. Migrants approach the village of Skala Sikamias on the Greek island of Lesbos while crossing from Turkey on March 2, 2020.

7. A boat transporting 27 refugees and migrants originating from Gambia and the Republic of the Congo lands in Lesbos on February 29, 2020, after the passengers were rescued by a warship during their sea crossing between Turkey and Greece.

8. A man holds a girl after arriving in Lesbos on February 29, 2020.

9. Migrants walk to Turkey's Pazarkule border crossing on February 28, 2020.

10. Migrants gather inside the buffer zone of the Turkey-Greece border at Pazarkule on February 29, 2020.

11. Members of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees agency deliver food to migrants at Turkey's Pazarkule border crossing on February 29, 2020.

12. Migrants gather at the Pazarkule border crossing in Edirne, Turkey, on February 29, 2020.

13. Greek soldiers stand in front of a fence on the Greek side of the Greece-Turkey border near Kastanies on March 2, 2020.

14. Migrants pull down barbed-wire fences to cross the border at the Pazarkule border gate on March 1, 2020.

15. A migrant crosses the border to reach Greece through destroyed barbed-wire fences at the Pazarkule crossing on March 1, 2020.

16. A migrant crosses the border under barbed wire following Greek border guards' intervention with tear-gas canisters and stun grenades in Edirne, Turkey, on March 1, 2020.

17. Greek border guards stop migrants trying to cross the border through holes in the fence at the Pazarkule crossing on March 1, 2020.

18. A drone photo taken from Edirne, Turkey, shows smoke rising from tear-gas canisters launched by Greek security forces at the border between Turkey and Greece on March 1, 2020.

19. Greek border guards use tear gas to disperse migrants in Edirne, Turkey, on March 1, 2020.

20. Migrants run from tear gas during clashes with Greek police at the Turkey-Greece border at Pazarkule on February 29, 2020.

21. Migrants cover their face to avoid tear gas thrown by Greek security forces on March 2, 2020.

22. Migrants gather firewood near the Evros river in Edirne, Turkey, as they continue to attempt to reach Greece on March 2, 2020.

23. Refugees and migrants sit around a fire on the Turkish shoreline of the Evros river on March 1, 2020.

24. Migrants sleep near the Pazarkule border gate at the Turkey-Greece border in Edirne on March 2, 2020.

25. A soldier walks by a Greek army vehicle with a broken windshield on the Greek side of the Greece-Turkey border near Kastanies on March 2, 2020.

26. Migrants cross the Evros river as they walk toward Turkey's Pazarkule border crossing with Greece's Kastanies near Edirne, Turkey, on March 1, 2020.

27. Refugees and migrants are rescued from an island in the middle of the Evros river on March 1, 2020, after becoming stuck for two days when they tried to cross from Turkey to Greece.

28. A woman reacts as a boat transporting refugees and migrants originating from Gambia and the Republic of the Congo lands on Lesbos on February 29, 2020, after the passengers were rescued while crossing between Turkey and Greece.