Syrian refugee died after trying to cross the Turkey-Greece border: Sources

A Syrian refugee seeking to cross from Turkey into Greece died from injuries on Monday after Greek security forces intervened to prevent the passage of migrants gathered on the border, two Turkish security sources told Reuters, a claim denied by Athens.

Eyewitness footage showed a group of men carrying a young man with bloody wounds to his head through a wooded area near the Turkish border town of Enez.

Greek government spokesman Stelios Petsas said the video circulating on social media was “fake news”.

Reuters spoke to the source whose voice can be heard in the video. He gave a detailed account of what happened which matched other reports. He also shared the location with Reuters which was confirmed by two Turkish officials. The video also matches similar videos of the incident.

The incident occurred after the Turkish government opened its border last week to let migrants reach Europe, saying it anticipated an imminent migrant wave from Syria’s Idlib region due to an escalation of conflict there. It was not clear how the migrant had been wounded.

More than 10,000 migrants have attempted in recent days to cross into Greece from Turkey’s land border. Guards have fired tear gas into crowds caught between the fences in no-man’s land.