Over 76,300 migrants leave Turkey to reach Europe

By Sena Guler

ANKARA (AA) - With a rapid rise in number overnight, more than 76,300 irregular migrants exited Turkey towards Europe as of Sunday morning, the interior minister said.

“The number of migrants leaving our country via Edirne is 76,358 as of 09.55 a.m. [0655 GMT],” Suleyman Soylu said on Twitter.

The migrants are leaving Turkey through northwestern Edirne province bordering with Greece and Bulgaria.

Thousands of migrants flocked to Pazarkule, a border gate with Greece, after Turkish officials announced Friday they would no longer try to stop irregular migrants from reaching Europe.

It followed an attack by Syrian regime forces on Turkish troops in the Idlib de-escalation zone, which martyred 34 soldiers.

Turkish soldiers are working to protect local civilians under the 2018 deal with Russia which prohibits acts of aggression in the region.

Turkey already hosts some 3.7 million migrants from Syria alone, more than any other country in the world.

Ankara has repeatedly complained that Europe has failed to keep its promises under the 2016 EU-Turkey refugee deal to help migrants and stem further migrant waves.