Dozens of migrants have reportedly crossed from Turkey into Greece via the river Evros. According to Greek radio, a total of 138 migrants, including a large number of children, were found by border guards and rescue teams on a small islet on the Greek side of the river.
A spokesman for the Greek border police told the Greek radio channel RealFM that all migrants were “taken to safety” in smaller groups.
He said that more than 60% of the group -- 53 in the total -- were minors.
"They said they were from Syria," he added, highlighting that authorities on the Turkish side of the border had allegedly not done anything to stop the irregular migrants.
Under a 2016 deal with the European Union, Turkey is supposed to hold back migrants who seek to cross into the bloc.
However, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who was just re-elected into his third decade in power last weekend, has repeated threatened to declare the agreement null and void, saying that Turkey is not willing to become "Europe's warehouse for refugees."
Read more: Erdogan announces return scheme for one million Syrians
Border fence along Evros
Against this backdrop, Greece has expressed plans to seal off its border with Turkey, as numbers of irregular crossings using the land route have been increasing in recent years.
There already is a 35-kilometer-long border fence along parts of the river Evros, which is due to be extended by another 80 kilometers.
However, Greece has petitioned the EU to fund further border fortifications, which Brussels so far has rejected, saying that modern border surveillance technology like reconnaissance drones should be used instead.
Read more: At the Evros border, the bodies mount up
War of words
According to official figures, Greek border authorities have managed to prevent roughly 256,000 crossings into the EU along the Evros river last year, in addition to countless attempts of boat migrants trying to reach the Greek islands from Turkey.
However, numerous human rights organizations as well as the UN have accused the government in Athens of using illegal push-back methods to make sure that migrants stay in Turkey.
This means that border guards take migrants back into Turkey without granting them a chance to file an asylum claim -- which under international law is everyone's right.
There have also been allegations of Greek authorities using violence during these push-backs as well; such human rights violations have repeatedly been investigated and continue to be probed.
Read more: Beaten and stripped, an Afghan Frontex interpreter accuses Greek border guards of assault
Greece denies these accusations, adding that it is doing everything within the law to protect its -- and the EU’s -- external borders, while trying to limit migration.
Greek authorities meanwhile have also accused Turkey in being involved or complicit in push-backs, especially at sea, as the two neighbors continue to trade accusations.
Read more: Greek border authorities have stolen more than €2 million from migrants in five years
with dpa