Traffickers suspected

Shots fired at the border: Greek police officer injured

A Greek border guard patrols the Evros River.(Bild: APA/AFP/Sakis MITROLIDIS)

Shots were fired during an operation on the Greek-Turkish border river Evros. A Greek police officer was hit. The authorities suspect that smugglers were firing from Turkish territory.

The incident occurred on Saturday evening. According to the Greek police, officers had been responding to an illegal border crossing by migrants when someone suddenly fired from Turkey. A border guard was injured in the abdomen and had to be operated on in a nearby hospital.

Greek security officials assume that smugglers fired the shots, as Greek media reporters reported on Sunday, citing police sources.

3000 migrants have already fled across the border river this year
Gangs of smugglers repeatedly try to bring migrants from Turkey to Greece and thus into the EU via the shallow waters of the Evros River due to the summer drought. Greece is currently building a fence along this border to prevent illegal border crossings.

According to the UN Refugee Agency, 3168 people have arrived in Greece from Turkey via this route since the beginning of the year until July 14.