25 drown off Turkish coast as borders close to refugees

At least 25 people drowned off the Turkish coast while trying to reach Greece yesterday, while Macedonian authorities imposed further restrictions on refugees trying to cross the Greek border.

The Turkish coast guard launched a search-and- rescue mission for other refugees believed to be missing, the state-run Anadolu Agency reported. The coast guard rescued 15 other refugees off the Aegean Sea resort of Didim, it added.

The dead included three children, according to the private Dogan news agency.

Meanwhile, Greek police officials said Macedonian authorities are only allowing those from cities they consider to be at war to cross the Idomeni border crossing from Greece. That means people from cities such as Aleppo in Syria, for example, can enter, but those from the Syrian capital of Damascus or the Iraqi capital of Baghdad are being stopped.

The developments come ahead of today’s summit between the EU and Turkey to discuss the crisis.

Nearly all refugees and other migrants who enter the EU have been sailing on small inflatable dinghies from the Turkish coast to the nearby Greek islands. With thousands of miles of coastline, Greece says it cannot staunch the flow unless Turkey stops the boats from leaving its shores.

Athens has also criticised Europe for not sticking to deals to take in refugees in a relocation scheme that never really got off the ground.

“While Idomeni is closed for refugees and the flows from the islands, from the Turkish shores to the islands, remain, it must be perfectly clear that the immediate start of a reliable process of relocation of refugees from our country to other countries of the European Union is a matter of complete urgency,” prime minister Alexis Tsipras said in a speech to his party at the weekend. “And this is exactly what we will seek in the summit on Monday. Not just the wording that this is urgent, but that it will begin immediately and with a large number.”

While thousands arrive in Greece’s main port of Piraeus from the islands, about 13,000-14,000 people remain stranded in Idomeni, with more arriving each day. The refugee camp has overflowed, with thousands pitching tents among the railway tracks and in adjacent fields.

The rate at which refugees are being allowed to cross had already been reduced to a trickle, with sometimes only a few dozen, or even nobody, being allowed to cross. Greek police said 240 people crossed between 6am on Saturday and the same time yesterday morning.

The camp is beginning to take on a form of semi- permanence, with people realising they will be spending at the very least several days in the fields. As morning broke, women swept the earth outside their tents with makeshift brooms made of twigs and leaves. Men stamped on branches pulled off trees nearby to use as firewood for small campfires to boil tea and cook.

Throughout yesterday morning, dozens of local Greeks arrived in cars packed with clothes and food donations to distribute to the refugees. Many were mobbed as they arrived at the first tents, with men, women, and children scrambling to receive whatever handouts they could.

The numbers have overwhelmed the Greek authorities. Massive queues form from early in the morning, with people waiting for hours for a sandwich.

While Greek officials have tried to discourage more people from arriving, hundreds more come each day, walking more than 15km from a where the UN refugee agency has set up large tents.