A Greek border guard has been shot and wounded on the Greece-Turkey border at the Evros River.
Greek police reported that gunfire came from the Turkish side of the river as border patrols were preventing an illegal crossing of migrants from Turkey into Greece on July 20.
The identity of the shooter remains unknown. Greek authorities have launched an investigation into the matter.
The wounded border guard, a 57-year-old man, sustained an abdominal injury and was transported to a hospital in the town of Didymoteicho, where he was operated on.
According to the Greek police, the injured officer was in a stable condition.
Greek media reported law enforcement officials believed the shooter or shooters were likely human traffickers. A statement from the police said the bullet that hit the border guard was fired from a pistol.
Border patrol officers reportedly detected suspicious activity on the Turkish side of the river just prior to the incident but dense vegetation prevented an accurate assessment of the number of individuals present.
Additional border guards were deployed to the area in response, in a bid to counter any attempted crossings.
Smuggling networks frequently try to guide migrants across the Evros River, exploiting low summer water levels, from Turkey into Greece, which serves as a gateway to the European Union.
Thousands of people have already entered Greece from Turkey via this route and in a bid to counter that, Greece is constructing a border fence.
According to @Frontex, in 2023, a significant increase in border crossings took place.
The planned EU Migration Pact will seek to relocate at least 30,000 migrants per year, although countries may refuse to accept migrants by paying a "fine".#MigrationPact pic.twitter.com/isR2jiNEkJ
— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) April 10, 2024
