Evros

Frontex expects a fresh wave of migrants seeking to cross the Turkish border into the European Union via Greece after Ankara lifts restrictions imposed to stop the spread of coronavirus, German newspaper Die Welt reported Friday citing an internal report of the bloc's border agency.

Greek authorities have reported two new incidents in less than 24 hours of shots being fired in the air by Turkish guards on the Evros River border with Greece, in the northeast.

Two new incidents of shots being fired by Turkish border guards was reported at the Greece's border in the Evros region late on Thursday.

In the first incident, two boats of the Turkish border police sailing in Evros river at 10.20 p.m. with two passengers each, fired shots in the air and a flair that landed on the Greek side of the border.

Greece will remain on high alert on land and on the islands over the Easter holidays in case Turkey suddenly decides to escalate tensions, Defense Minister Nikos Panagiotopoulos said Tuesday.

Greek forces are on high alert to prevent a repeat of the standoff on the Evros border earlier this year when Turkey opened the doors for migrants to travel to the European Union, Kathimerini understands.

Despite the end of the migrant crisis at the Evros land border last month, Greece remains vigilant and wary of Turkey's moves in the wider region.

This state has been further reinforced by the diversion of the focus of many regional players due to the coronavirus pandemic.

No one expected that Turkey would join Greece in celebrating the anniversary of the 1821 uprising against the Ottoman Empire. Nor did anyone expect that on that very symbolic day for Greece, Turkish fighter jets would violate Greek airspace over the Evros border region and the Aegean Sea.

For anyone that still needed to be convinced, the evacuation on Friday by the Turkish authorities of hundreds of migrants who had for weeks waited at the border crossing with Greece aiming to force their way into Europe lifted any remaining doubts about what was at stake. 

As the global coronavirus spreads and with a death toll of over 20,000 Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is ratcheting up tensions with Greece with a military escalation.

Athens sees no letup in Ankara's strategy of fueling tension on land and sea, with its forces regularly firing tear gas and stun grenades over the Evros land border while on Monday its fighter jets again violated Greek airspace over the northeastern coast of the island of Chios in the eastern Aegean.