Ankara, March 6 (RHC)-- In Turkey, an estimated 25,000 refugees and asylum seekers — many of them from Syria — have massed at the border with Greece, after Turkish officials ended a 2016 agreement to prevent them from entering the European Union.

Earlier this week, Greek riot police fired tear gas, water cannons and “less lethal” rounds through a border fence into throngs of asylum seekers hoping to reach the European Union.  Turkish officials say six asylum seekers were injured after police opened fire with live ammunition, with one of them later dying from his wounds.

Other refugees detained by Greek police say they were stripped of their shoes and jackets and severely beaten. The Greek government denied the reports, calling them “fake news.”

In related news, European Union officials gathered in Brussels on Wednesday for three days of emergency talks on the humanitarian crisis at the Greece-Turkey border.  In a joint statement, EU ministers accused Turkey of using “migratory pressure for political purposes,” and offered Greece more money for border policing.

Hundreds of people gathered outside the European Council to protest, holding signs reading “Refugees Welcome” and “Solidarity = Safe Passage to Europe.”