EU teams to patrol Greek-Turkey border

By Rachael Brown

Posted Tue Oct 26, 2010 10:28am AEDT

Rapid Border Intervention Teams (RABIT) from the European Union (EU) have been sent to the Greek-Turkish border in an effort to curb an influx of illegal migrants from Africa and Asia.

The European Commission says the flow of illegal migrants entering Greece has reached alarming proportions.

Greece is the first country to ask for help from the EU’s border intervention teams.

The Commission says hundreds of migrants from northern Africa and war zones like Iraq, Pakistan and Afghanistan have flooded through the Greek-Turkish border in recent weeks.

The border guards will answer to Greece and will be armed, but can only use their weapons for self defence.

The deployment comes a week after a UN expert said migrants in Greece are frequently held in inhumane conditions due to filthy and overcrowded detention centres, poor police training and a spike in arrivals.

via EU teams to patrol Greek-Turkey border – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation).