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| - Greece called for "strong" support in a meeting with European Union leaders on a deepening migration crisis at its border with Turkey on Tuesday after Ankara warned it would allow millions of refugees to head to Europe. The meeting with the three leaders of the bloc's institutions comes after thousands of people, many tired and hungry, gathered on the 200-kilometre (125-mile) border or took to makeshift rafts heading for the country's Aegean Islands seeking to cross from Turkey into the European Union. Turkey hosts around four million refugees, most of which are Syrian, and many Afghans, and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is facilitating their exit to pressure the EU to support his forces in Syria. Greece has suspended asylum procedures in a bid to prevent people entering its territory, but the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) has criticised the move. A Greek government source said Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis expects "strong support" from the European Union at his meeting on Tuesday in the border region of Evros with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Council President Charles Michel and Parliament President David Sassoli. The EU has largely been on the sidelines of the issue but on Monday von der Leyen said: "The challenge that Greece is facing right now is a European challenge." Some 24,203 people were stopped from crossing the border from Turkey between Saturday and Monday night, according to figures from the Greek government, which has sent troops and police to reinforce its border areas. Security forces have fired tear gas to attempt to repel the migrants in recent days. Rights groups have criticised the response and called on the EU to step in to help Greece tackle the situation. "The EU has an opportunity to show it has learned from the errors of the recent past by putting in place humane and efficient measures at the border that respect the right to seek asylum and people's dignity," said Lotte Leicht, EU director at Human Rights Watch. "The heads of all three EU institutions should use this visit to pledge their support for emergency humanitarian aid at the border, for sharing responsibility among EU member states for people in need, and for respecting their rights." str-hec/chv/klm/spm
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