Turkish President Erdogan has again accused Greece of "illegal and reckless pushbacks" of migrant boats in the Aegean. Meanwhile a group of Green MEPs said Greece erected a "wall of lies" to deny its systematic pushback practice.
A group of Syrian refugees in Turkey is planning to form a caravan to reach the European Union. Organizers say Syrians are faced with discrimination and racism in Turkey and appealed to international organizations to facilitate the crossing.
Canadian journalist Matthieu Aikins has been reporting from Afghanistan since 2009. In 2015, he decided to accompany his friend Omar* to Europe. His book 'The Naked Don’t Fear The Water' recalls that journey and the barriers they encountered along the way.
Greek authorities have found a group of Syrian migrants who reportedly had been stranded on an islet in the Evros river for several days. A total of 38 migrants were in the group, and one girl was reported to have died.
Dozens of migrants remain missing after their boat sank off the Greek island of Karpathos. Meanwhile in northern Greece, reports are mounting of migrants being shoved back and forth between Greek and Turkish authorities.
Recently, Lebanon and Turkey announced plans to send up to a million Syrians back home, claiming much of Syria is now safe. This is making some in the Syrian population nervous.
The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has ruled that Turkey unlawfully expelled a young Syrian refugee after forcing him to sign a document that said he was returning voluntarily.
Lebanon says that Syrian refugees may be expelled from the country if the international community does not repatriate them. But a UN representative in Turkey warned this week that conditions in Syria are not suitable for return.
The European Union has allocated 50 million euros in additional funding to provide humanitarian aid to vulnerable refugees hosted in Turkey. The funds will support healthcare services as well as legal and psychological assistance for migrants.
Turkey has announced plans to tighten conditions for foreigners to be eligible for residence permits. New rules to be introduced next month will especially affect Syrian refugees and other migrants in certain neighborhoods.
Syrian refugees in Turkey are worried about Erdogan's plans to to relocate up to 1 million of them to "safe areas" inside Syria. Damascus is also unhappy, fearing a Turkish landgrab and the return of dissidents.
Greece has faced accusations of illegally pushing asylum seekers back to Turkey for years. Turkish activist fleeing persecution are reportedly among the victims of these pushbacks, facing increasingly hostile Greek border authorities.