Kastanies: Greece countered accusations from Turkey Wednesday that it was responsible for the death of a migrant, as its border authorities strove for a sixth day to keep thousands of migrants out by using tear gas, stun grenades and water cannons.
The border tensions followed last week’s decision by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to declare the country’s gateways to Greece open, in an apparent attempt to pressure Europe into offering Turkey more support in dealing with the fallout from the Syrian war to its south.
Turkish officials charged that Greek gunfire killed one migrant and wounded five others a claim that Athens flatly rejected. The office of Ekrem Canalp, governor for the Turkish border province of Edirne, said the death occurred on the Turkish side of the border close to the Kastanies ”or Pazarkule in Turkish” crossing.
An official at Edirne’s Trakya University Hospital confirmed the death and injuries. Reporters on the Greek side heard what sounded like gunfire, though it was unclear whether live ammunition was used.
People could be seen carrying what could have been a person between them, and running to the Turkish border post. Shortly afterward, at least one ambulance left.
Greek border authorities also said Wednesday that Turkish police were firing tear gas at them, and supplied video they said backed their assertion.
Greek government spokesman Stelios Petsas categorically denied any migrants had been wounded or killed by Greek authorities.
”The Turkish side creates and disperses fake news targeted against Greece,” he said.