Turkey confirms migrant died in hospital, Greece denies claims of killing

(Patria) – The Greek government issued a statement in which it denies Turkish claims that Greek police killed a migrant attempting to cross the EU border.

From the office of the governor of the Turkish province of Edirne, they reported that six migrants were injured when Greek police opened fire on the migrants with plastic and live bullets, and that one of the six died in the hospital.

In a statement by Greek government spokesperson Stelios Petsas, it is said that 'the Turkish side creates and distributes fake news against Greece,' and the claims were 'categorically' rejected.

If the Turkish authorities' claim is confirmed, this will be the second death since Turkey announced it would no longer prevent refugees from reaching the EU.

According to UNHCR data, Turkey hosts 63.4% of the entire world refugee population from the Middle East, Africa and Afghanistan – a percentage that has certainly grown significantly since the 2018 report due to the Syrian war. Today, about 3.6 million refugees live in Turkey, among whom the largest number are Syrians.

From the office of the governor of Turkish Edirne, it is also stated that the migrant, whose identity has still not been determined, was transferred to the university hospital after medical intervention on the spot, where he died.

Turkish President Erdogan called on Greece and other EU countries 'to act in accordance with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and respect the rights of refugees seeking refuge in their countries.'

The EU immediately allocated 350 million euros, to which Erdogan posed the question: 'In the last ten years, while Turkey has hosted 4 million Syrians, have you ever offered us such aid?' reports Euronews.