News
Latest News
news bulletin
Breaking Headlines
Israel-Gaza War Updates
Variety and Tech
Sports News
Middle East News
World News
Lebanon News
Press Highlights
Lebanon Economy
News Bulletin Reports
Other News
Breaking Headlines
Israel-Gaza War Updates
Variety and Tech
Sports News
Middle East News
World News
Lebanon News
Press Highlights
Lebanon Economy
News Bulletin Reports
Beirut
21
o
Mount Lebanon
21
o
Metn
21
o
Keserwan
21
o
North
21
o
South
21
o
Bekaa
20
o
Live
Video
Audio
Schedule
shows
العربية
watching now
Late Night News
SUBSCRIBE
Home
Notification
Live
Video
Audio
shows
Beirut
21
o
Mount Lebanon
21
o
Metn
21
o
Keserwan
21
o
North
21
o
South
21
o
Bekaa
20
o
News
Programs
The News
Breaking Headlines
Israel-Gaza War Updates
Variety and Tech
Sports News
Middle East News
World News
Lebanon News
Press Highlights
Lebanon Economy
News Bulletin Reports
Programs
Documentaries
Lebanon’s Centennial
News Bulletin
The Untold History
Talk Show
Series
Sports
Variety
Other
Comedy
Oldies
Breaking News
Latest News
Highlighted News
Most Read
Videos
العربية
Watch the latest programs and the latest developments on your favorite screen
Shows
Join millions of followers
Who We Are
Contact Us
Advertise With Us
Careers
Channel frequencies
Privacy Policy
Terms and Conditions
Turkey says it will let refugees into Europe after troops killed in Syria
Breaking Headlines
2020-02-28 | 15:13
High views
Share
Share
Turkey says it will let refugees into Europe after troops killed in Syria
Watch now
More details about online video viewing packages
6
min
Turkey says it will let refugees into Europe after troops killed in Syria
Refugees in Turkey headed towards European frontiers on Friday after an official declared that borders had been thrown open, a response to the escalating war in Syria where 33 Turkish soldiers were killed by Russian-backed Syrian government troops.
Moscow and Ankara traded blame over the strike in northwest Syria, the deadliest attack suffered by Turkey's army in nearly 30 years. The U.N. Security Council called an emergency meeting to avert open conflict between Russia and NATO member Turkey.
Donald Trump, in a telephone conversation with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, condemned Thursday's attack on Turkish troops and reaffirmed U.S. support for Ankara's efforts to avert a humanitarian disaster in Syria, a White House spokesman said.
The two leaders also said Syria and Russia must halt their offenses in northwest Syria, spokesman Judd Deere said.
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the escalation of fighting was "one of the most alarming moments" of the Syrian war and called for an immediate ceasefire.
Turkey's neighbors Greece and Bulgaria reinforced their borders in response to Ankara's threat to reopen the frontier, shut under an accord that halted the 2015-16 migration crisis when more than a million people crossed into Europe by foot.
"We have decided, effective immediately, not to stop Syrian refugees from reaching Europe by land or sea," a senior Turkish official told Reuters on condition of anonymity.
"All refugees, including Syrians, are now welcome to cross into the European Union," the official said, adding that police and border guards had been stood down.
Within hours, a column of dozens of migrants was heading on foot towards the European frontier in the early morning light.
"We heard about it on the television," said Afghan migrant Sahin Nebizade, 16, in a group packed into taxis on a highway.
At the Pazarkule border post with Greece, scores of migrants faced barbed wire fences and smoke grenades. Some stuck in the no-man's land between the two countries tried to return to the Turkish side to escape the smoke, only to be turned back.
Hamid Muhammed, who carried a young girl, said he had been turned back by Greek police: "We want the Turkish and European governments to open this gate."
Greece's prime minister said no unauthorized crossing would be allowed. Bulgaria's prime minister said the prospect of a new migration crisis was even more of a threat when European countries were struggling to respond to the coronavirus.
The EU noted that Ankara had made no formal announcement of any change in policy at the border.
A MILLION DISPLACED
Inside Syria there was ample evidence of the renewed fighting that has caused perhaps the worst humanitarian crisis of the nine-year-old war.
A million civilians have been displaced since December inside Syria near the Turkish border in desperate winter conditions. Turkey, already home to 3.7 million Syrian refugees, says it cannot take more.
Reuters journalists at the front line saw huge clouds of white smoke as government forces struck the town of Saraqeb, an important crossroads captured by rebels this week in a rare push-back against the government's advance.
Rebel fighters sped down highways in pick-up trucks mounted with artillery. In the provincial capital Idlib, wounded fighters in jeans and camouflage jackets were carried into a clinic on trollies.
Medical charity Medicins Sans Frontieres said it had asked Turkey to allow the transit of vital humanitarian aid and medical staff to help the refugees in northwest Syria.
Syria's civil war has worsened dramatically in recent months despite largely vanishing from Western countries' agendas. Government forces, backed by Russian air power, have launched an assault to capture the northwest, the last remaining territory held by rebels backed by Turkey.
With diplomacy sponsored by Ankara and Moscow in tatters, Turkey has come closer than ever to direct confrontation with Russia on the battlefield.
Turkey's Erdogan and Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke by telephone on Friday. The Kremlin said they agreed on the need for a new arrangement to avert clashes. Turkey said the leaders agreed to meet as soon as possible.
"There is a risk of sliding into a major open international military confrontation," EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said on Twitter.
The return of refugees to the frontier was a reminder of Western Europe's biggest migration since World War Two: the 2015-2016 crisis when 4,000 people drowned trying to reach Greece before Turkey shut the border in return for EU cash.
"At a time when we are imposing stricter border monitoring over the coronavirus, imagine if we have an inflow of hundreds of thousands of migrants," Bulgaria's Prime Minister Boyko Borissov said. "We cannot afford that."
Turkey, long the main ally of rebels battling Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's forces, has recently sent thousands of troops and heavy military hardware into Idlib.
Thursday's air strike was the worst on Turkey's military since a 1993 attack by Kurdish separatists.
Turkey's defense minister said it occurred despite coordination with Russia. Moscow said the Turkish troops should not have been in the area, and Ankara had failed to say where they were.
REUTERS
To watch the full report, please click on the video above.
Breaking Headlines
Turkey
Syria
Next
Grand Mufti Derian travels to Saudi Arabia for Hajj
Recommended For You
d-none hideMe
0
Middle East News
2024-04-25
Over 430 settlers storm Al-Aqsa Mosque on third day of Passover holiday: Al Jazeera reports
Middle East News
2024-04-25
Over 430 settlers storm Al-Aqsa Mosque on third day of Passover holiday: Al Jazeera reports
0
Lebanon News
2024-04-23
Hezbollah announces launching 'dozens of rockets' at Israel in response to civilian deaths
Lebanon News
2024-04-23
Hezbollah announces launching 'dozens of rockets' at Israel in response to civilian deaths
0
Lebanon News
2024-04-21
Breaking: Israeli airstrike hits Naqoura, reports NNA
Lebanon News
2024-04-21
Breaking: Israeli airstrike hits Naqoura, reports NNA
0
Lebanon News
2024-04-21
Shelling from Lebanon hits Western Galilee: Israeli Channel 12 reports
Lebanon News
2024-04-21
Shelling from Lebanon hits Western Galilee: Israeli Channel 12 reports
Subscribe to our VOD
SUBSCRIBE
Our visitors readings
d-none hideMe
0
Variety and Tech
2023-07-18
Tesla directors pay $735M to settle claims they overpaid themselves
Variety and Tech
2023-07-18
Tesla directors pay $735M to settle claims they overpaid themselves
0
News Bulletin Reports
2024-04-25
Global Military Spending Soars: Implications and Regional Trends
News Bulletin Reports
2024-04-25
Global Military Spending Soars: Implications and Regional Trends
0
Israel-Gaza War Updates
2024-03-25
UN Security Council to vote on Gaza ceasefire resolution for Ramadan: Axios
Israel-Gaza War Updates
2024-03-25
UN Security Council to vote on Gaza ceasefire resolution for Ramadan: Axios
0
Israel-Gaza War Updates
2024-04-21
Hamas: New US military aid to Israel is a 'green light for aggression'
Israel-Gaza War Updates
2024-04-21
Hamas: New US military aid to Israel is a 'green light for aggression'
Videos
d-none hideMe
0
Lebanon News
2023-12-11
Breaking: Israel launches raid north of Litani on Monday (Video)
Lebanon News
2023-12-11
Breaking: Israel launches raid north of Litani on Monday (Video)
0
Lebanon News
2023-11-02
Exclusive to LBCI: U.S. State Department's Wooster Stresses Lebanon Must Avoid War, Sees Renewed Push for Two-State Solution
Lebanon News
2023-11-02
Exclusive to LBCI: U.S. State Department's Wooster Stresses Lebanon Must Avoid War, Sees Renewed Push for Two-State Solution
0
Lebanon News
2023-10-18
Protests Erupt near US Embassy in Awkar Against Israeli Attacks on Al-Maamadani Hospital in Gaza
Lebanon News
2023-10-18
Protests Erupt near US Embassy in Awkar Against Israeli Attacks on Al-Maamadani Hospital in Gaza
0
Lebanon News
2023-10-05
ATFL's Ambassador Edward Gabriel on Navigating Through Economic, Political, and Refugee Crises
Lebanon News
2023-10-05
ATFL's Ambassador Edward Gabriel on Navigating Through Economic, Political, and Refugee Crises
0
Sports News
2023-08-31
Amir Saoud Powers Lebanon to Victory Over Cote d'Ivoire: A Deep Dive Into The Numbers
Sports News
2023-08-31
Amir Saoud Powers Lebanon to Victory Over Cote d'Ivoire: A Deep Dive Into The Numbers
0
Sports News
2023-08-29
France Edges Past Lebanon in a Nail-Biter at FIBA World Cup 2023: A Statistical Deep Dive
Sports News
2023-08-29
France Edges Past Lebanon in a Nail-Biter at FIBA World Cup 2023: A Statistical Deep Dive
0
Lebanon News
2019-02-28
Pierre el-Daher, the man who defeated the Lebanese Forces
Lebanon News
2019-02-28
Pierre el-Daher, the man who defeated the Lebanese Forces
Most read
d-none hideMe
24 hours
7 days
Month
1
Lebanon News
00:31
Hezbollah's ambush: Targeting an armored convoy in Kfarchouba Hills
Lebanon News
00:31
Hezbollah's ambush: Targeting an armored convoy in Kfarchouba Hills
2
Middle East News
11:19
Al Jazeera, citing Yedioth Ahronoth: National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir's car overturns in a traffic accident near stabbing attack scene in Ramla
Middle East News
11:19
Al Jazeera, citing Yedioth Ahronoth: National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir's car overturns in a traffic accident near stabbing attack scene in Ramla
3
News Bulletin Reports
12:32
Pascal Sleiman's abduction and murder: Six suspects charged
News Bulletin Reports
12:32
Pascal Sleiman's abduction and murder: Six suspects charged
4
Lebanon News
04:37
Aboul Hosn to LBCI: Addressing Hezbollah's visit and Syrian displacement crisis
Lebanon News
04:37
Aboul Hosn to LBCI: Addressing Hezbollah's visit and Syrian displacement crisis
5
Lebanon Economy
02:15
Fuel prices decrease in Lebanon
Lebanon Economy
02:15
Fuel prices decrease in Lebanon
6
Middle East News
00:12
Houthis target MSC ship in Gulf of Aden
Middle East News
00:12
Houthis target MSC ship in Gulf of Aden
7
Middle East News
06:45
CENTCOM: Missile launched from Houthi area, no injuries reported
Middle East News
06:45
CENTCOM: Missile launched from Houthi area, no injuries reported
8
Lebanon News
05:18
Waddah Sadek to LBCI: The Parliament is the primary reason behind Lebanon's crisis
Lebanon News
05:18
Waddah Sadek to LBCI: The Parliament is the primary reason behind Lebanon's crisis
Download now the LBCI mobile app
To see the latest news, the latest daily programs in Lebanon and the world
Google Play
App Store
We use
cookies
We use
cookies
to make
your experience on this
website better.
Accept
Learn More