BRUSSELS – The European Union’s biggest migration official on Friday expressed concern over an increase in the number of shootings on the Turkish side of the country’s land border with Greece near where EU border officers were patrolling.
It was recently reported that at least 3 incidents of gunfire in the air by uniforms of Turkish personnel were reported. Fabrice Leggeri, head of the EU’s Border and Coast Guard Agency, wrote to the European Commission to warn of the growing number of shootings in the Evros region.
“I’m always worried when there are shootings near the EU’s outer borders,” EU Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson told reporters, “even if it does not appear to have shot at anyone.” No details about the incidents were provided.
Leggeri instructed Frontex officers to wear bulletproof vests when patrolling the area.
Tensions along the borders between EU member states Greece and Turkey have long been drawn. They turned violent a year ago after Turkey, angry at a lack of EU support for its invasion of northern Syria, swept thousands of migrants across the border.
EU leaders will discuss their strained relations with Turkey at a two-day summit in Brussels starting on March 25.