Greece decides to return 10,000 Syrian refugees to Türkiye
The Greek government plans to return 10,000 Syrian refugees to Türkiye by 2020.
The decision was made at an emergency meeting of the Greek government's cabinet after a fire at a refugee camp killed a woman and injured 17 people.
There are 12,000 refugees living in the aforementioned camp, which is four times the camp's capacity.
Following the fire at the refugee camp on the island of Lesbos, there have been reports of clashes between refugees and police, leading the government to consider sending them back to Turkey or mainland Greece.
Four years ago, around 850,000 Syrian refugees arrived on the Greek islands from Turkey. Reports indicate that 9,000 new refugees arrived in Greece last month alone.
UN statistics show that between 2016 and August 2019, about 310,000 new refugees arrived in Greece.
Source: Voice of America
