Greece: Turkish personnel fire weapons into Greek territory
Greek police and military personnel reported shots coming from Turkish vessels in the river at approximately 10 PM Thursday night, according to a report by Greek City Times. The Turks are said to have fired about fifty rounds. Greek authorities are not certain if the shooters were Turkish police or members of the Turkish armed forces.
No injuries were reported, although Greek forces in the area were put on alert. The first incident took place near the Evros border crossing, which has been a flashpoint for violence between Greek security forces and tens of thousands of migrants who recently attempted to illegally cross the border, often assisted by the Turkish police, as previously reported by Voice of Europe.
At around midnight the same night, Turkish boats again fired about fifty rounds toward Greece in the Tycheros area of the river.
Greek authorities say they do not know what the Turks were shooting at or if they were using live rounds.
Germany’s Interior Ministry confirmed on Wednesday that there was an incident on Tuesday evening when a Turkish soldier fired across the border. Germany is one of several European Union member states which has sent police officers to reinforce the Greek border during the latest migrant crisis.
At approximately 7:15 PM on Tuesday, German police heard a gunshot fired from the Turkish side of the border. They observed the Turkish side through binoculars and spotted a Turkish soldier aiming an automatic weapon at the Greek side. The soldier gave them his middle finger and then left.
Later the same evening, six Turkish soldiers appeared on the riverbank and aimed their guns at German and Greek security forces without firing. Greece says it is monitoring the situation.
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