3 migrant women found dead on Greece-Turkey land border

Greek authorities have recovered on Wednesday the dead bodies of three women believed to be refugees or migrants on the bank of Evros river near the land border line with Turkey, according to Greek national news agency AMNA.

The preliminary investigation by police and forensic experts showed that the three women were killed with a sharp object, AMNA reported.

The identities and nationalities of the victims have not yet been identified. According to forensic experts sources they were most likely refugees or migrants who had entered into Greece from Turkey, the youngest were 15-18 years old and they were probably relatives.

According to the Greek Migration Policy ministry so far this year over 11,000 migrants have crossed into Greece through Evros, up from 5,500 in 2017, as smugglers have sought alternative routes to the Aegean Sea islands after the EU-Turkey agreement of March 2016 aimed to stem the migrant influx to Europe.

More than one million people landed on Greece's shores since 2015 and continued their journey to other European countries seeking refuge from warzones and extreme poverty until the closure of the borders to central Europe in the winter of 2016.

Although the numbers have plummeted in the past two years, dozens still risk their lives every day to cross into Greece from Turkey.

About 60,000 people have been stranded in Greece, including 18,850 living on the northern Aegean Sea islands in difficult conditions in cramped reception centers, according to the Greek Ministry of Citizens' Protection.