'Migrants leaving Turkey to reach Europe over 130,000'

ANKARA

The number of migrants leaving Turkey to cross to Greece via its northwestern border Edirne as of 9.15 p.m. local time (0615GMT) on Tuesday reached 130,469, Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said on Twitter.

Saying that Europe broke its promise to help migrants in Turkey, as well as help Turkey stem further migrant waves, Turkish officials announced earlier that they would no longer try to stop irregular migrants from reaching Europe.

The decision was made after 34 Turkish soldiers were martyred at the hands of regime forces in the northwestern Syrian province of Idlib, on Feb. 27.

Since then, thousands of irregular migrants have flocked to Edirne to make their way into Europe.

The Turkish soldiers are working to protect local civilians under a 2018 deal with Russia under which acts of aggression are prohibited in the region, and over 1,300 civilians have been killed in the de-escalation zone, in violation of the deal.

Turkey, which already hosts some 3.7 million Syrian migrants, more than any country in the world, says it cannot absorb another refugee wave.

* Writing by Burak Dag