Good clinical picture shows Greek border guard, who was shot at by “unknown persons” from the Turkish side during his patrol yesterday in Sufli, in Evros.

According to reports, the man was part of a group of Greek border guards patrolling the riverside area near “Abelia”, where no fence has been built. There, during an operation to prevent illegal entry of migrants from Turkey into Greece, the border guards were shot at around 18:20 by “unknown persons”who were on the Turkish side.

According to reports, the 57-year-old wounded man received at least three shots, resulting in him being injured and evacuated by ambulance from the Soufli Health Center to the hospital of Didymoteicho. Subsequently, the Greek border guard underwent surgery, as he sustained a gunshot wound in the left lateral abdominal region and is being treated out of danger in a of increased care unit.

A detailed statement from the National Police

“Today, Saturday, July 20, 2024, at around 18.20 in a nearby area of Soufli Evros, Greek border guards patrolling the area and during an operation to prevent illegal entry of migrants from Turkey into our country, were shot by unknown persons on the Turkish side. A Greek border guard was wounded by the shooting and was immediately transferred to the hospital of Didymoteicho for first aid. The whole incident is being investigated by the competent Greek authorities.”

The scenarios

For its part, the police is investigating the incident, as the identification of the perpetrator, who shot the 57-year-old border guard while the operation to prevent the entry of illegal immigrants was in progress. Therefore, it is most likely that the perpetrator was a smuggler, who shot while trying to push the illegal immigrants towards the Greek side, while other possibilities are not excluded.

The president of the Border Guards Union of Evros, Chrysovalanti Yalamas, spoke of “criminal gangs of traffickers” days ago, but he described the summer so far this year as “barren” in terms of the volume of migrant flows in Evros. Speaking to THRAKI NET, Mr. Yalamas argued that “we see again the criminal gangs of traffickers operating without taking into account human souls. Difficult situations, which with great professionalism, my colleagues are trying to stop and to a very large extent we are succeeding,” concluded Mr. Yalamas.