Government intensifies efforts to "seal" Evros border

"The army has also come out strong in patrols with professional soldiers, vehicles and thermal cameras; this is a huge boost to existing personnel," a local police officer said. The "deterrent forces" in Evros are expected to be reinforced by an additional 400 border guards, whose recruitment process has begun, according to what Citizen Protection Minister Michalis Chrysochoidis announced during his recent visit to Alexandroupolis .

A second zone has already been activated behind the border, namely along the Egnatia Odos, where police forces will patrol nightly to track down and arrest those who cross the Evros and head towards Thessaloniki. In fact, four closed pre-departure centers, three in Eastern Macedonia and Thrace and one in the Thessaloniki area, will receive those arrested while the government is considering extending Orestiada's barbed wire fence to river shores where it will not make it vulnerable to flooding.

The government is hurrying to shield, and possibly isolate the Evros, believing that despite the coming winter and the expected rise in water levels, flows are not expected to decrease, and pressure from local communities is high. The Aegean road with stormy seas makes crossing particularly dangerous, but those who land on an island are sure to be trapped, and if they can cross - at high risk - the Evros, they hope to bypass police and move inland.