A group of around 500 people, who had been engaged in a standoff with riot police on the road leading into the city since Sept.15, lifted their makeshift camp at night on Sept.19 and left the area in buses provided by local authorities, an AFP photographer witnessed.
Some joined a larger group of around 1,500 migrants still waiting inside the city for the chance to continue their journey over land to Greece, a mere 10 kilometres (six miles) away, or Bulgaria, which is about twice that distance.
Others took buses back to Istanbul, about 250 kilometres to the east.
At a meeting with a delegation of refugees on Sept.19 evening Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu had appealed to the refugees to "end their protest by Monday [Sept.21]", he wrote on Twitter.
"The voices of our Syrian brothers have been heard by the entire world. They must now return to a normal life," Davutoğlu wrote, promising more aid to the more than two million Syrian refugees living in Turkey to prevent them trying to illegally cross into Europe.
"We are ready to send people to countries who open their doors to them, but unfortunately no country has given a favourable response so far," he added.
The refugees gathered in Edirne, who included a large number of children, has been demanding to be allowed travel to Europe by land instead of risking their lives in overcrowded migrant boats in the Aegean Sea.
On Sept.19 evening, police used batons to repel a group of around people, who tried to storm police lines, chanting "open the doors".
Many of the Syrians pouring into Europe have been living in Turkey for months, sometimes years. They complain that Turkey's failure to grant them full refugee status has made it a struggle to access basic services and jobs.
AFP
hurriyetdailynews.com
20/9/15
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Syrian migrants determined to march on amid ‘deadline’
Turkey stops migrants crossing to Greece
Bulgaria began deploying up to 1,000 troops Thursday to buttress its southeastern border with Turkey with hundreds of migrants stranded for a third day on the Turkish side, a senior official said....
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Turquie: un nouveau groupe de migrants stoppé par la police sur la route d'Edirne...
ReplyDelete(Belga) La police turque a intercepté lundi un nouveau groupe de plusieurs centaines de migrants, en majorité des réfugiés syriens, en route pour la ville-frontière d'Edirne (nord-ouest) avec l'espoir d'entrer en Grèce, a rapporté un photographe de l'AFP.
Bloqués depuis plusieurs jours dans une gare routière d'Istanbul par les autorités qui les empêchent de monter dans des bus, quelque 700 migrants ont décidé dans la nuit de dimanche à lundi de prendre la route pour Edirne, à quelque 250 km de là. Après avoir passé la nuit sur le bas-côté de l'autoroute qui mène à l'ancienne capitale de l'empire ottoman, la cohorte, sacs à l'épaule, a repris sa marche à l'aube. Certains d'entre eux ont réussi à monter à bord de bus ou de véhicules particuliers, les autres ont continué à progresser sur la bande d'arrêt d'urgence de l'autoroute, au milieu du trafic matinal, où ils ont été finalement stoppés dans les faubourgs d'Istanbul par un barrage de la police antiémeute. Depuis près d'une semaine, de nombreux migrants qui souhaitent entrer dans l'Union européenne ont pris la route d'Edirne après un appel, largement relayé sur les réseaux sociaux, leur recommandant d'éviter la traversée périlleuse de la mer Egée entre les stations balnéaires du sud-ouest turc et les îles grecques. (Belga)
rtl.be
21/9/15