Greece to Build Border Wall in Fight Against Illegal Immigration

Greece has started building a new section of wall along its border with Turkey, after several stand-offs with the Middle Eastern nation over illegal immigration.

The Hellenic Army will build an extra 16 miles (27km) of fence as well as upgrading its existing border protection with steel railing measuring just over 4 metres in height, featuring concrete foundations and galvanized square steel tubes.

With a budget of €63 million and an expected completion date of April 2021, the project was announced this week by the Greek government spokesman, Stelios Petsas.

Police are also trialing “high-powered mobile sirens, aimed at deterring migrants as they cross”, according to AP News, which reported a police chief in the Greece-Turkey border region saying: “The cameras will be a vital resource for us. We have been asking for them for five years and we think they will be very effective.”

The development comes after stand-offs with Turkey, which hosts around 4 million third world migrants, over illegal immigration, with Ankara sending thousands of migrants to the Greek border earlier in April after warning it would re-open the floodgates of mass migration.

Turkey previously opened the border back in February, with Athens accusing President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government of busing migrants to the European border, and arming them with tear gas canisters to fight Greek border officials.

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