Merkel Presses for Tighter Controls as Syrians Wait at Turkish Border
Local Editor
As tens of thousands of Syrians were stranded at the border with Turkey Monday, Germany's chancellor Angela Merkel prepared to visit Ankara to press for tighter border controls.
Merkel, whose country let in more than a million asylum seekers last year, was due to hold talks with Erdogan and his Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu in the Turkish capital Monday.
In parallel, Turkey, which vowed to help the crowds of people, including many women and children, has not opened its borders and aid agencies warned they are facing a "desperate" situation as they wait for help.
In the context, Deputy PM Numan Kurtulmus told media that: "Turkey has reached the limit of its capacity to absorb the refugees."
"But in the end, these people have nowhere else to go. We are not in a position to tell them not to come. If we do, we would be abandoning them to their deaths," he added.
However, Turkey's Oncupinar border crossing remained closed Sunday as thousands of refugees gathered there for a third day waiting for the gate to open.
Carrying their few belongings, Syrians queued in the cold and rain in squalid camps waiting for tents being distributed by aid agencies. Others are reportedly sleeping in fields and on roads.
A Turkish official said the crossing was "open for emergency situations," adding that seven injured people have been taken for treatment in Turkish hospitals.
Meanwhile, residents of border areas fear being overwhelmed by a fresh wave of new arrivals as the country has the largest population of Syrian refugees with some 2.7 million people on its soil.
In a similar context, the EU promised three billion euros of aid in return for Ankara's help in stopping the flow of new arrivals on its shores, most of whom make their way through Turkey.
Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team
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