Afghan migrants in Istanbul look to Europe

Описание: (1 Mar 2020) Migrants in Istanbul spoke of their hopes about leaving Turkey for Europe on Sunday, after Turkey said its western borders were open.
One young Afghan said he wanted to join his brother in Germany.
"I couldn't go to school (in Turkey) because I don't have residency," said Housain Mahmoudi. "That's why I am going to Germany."
He was one of dozens of migrants gathered at a square in Istanbul's Zeytinburnu district, where minibuses waited to ferry them westwards.
Throughout Sunday a steady stream of vehicles took hundreds of migrants to Edirne, a town near the border with Greece.
The vast majority of the migrants were Afghans, and said they wanted to settle in Germany.
Turkey's decision to allow migrants to head for the European Union came amid a Russia-backed Syrian government offensive into Syria's northwestern Idlib province.
The offensive has killed dozens of Turkish troops and led to a surge of nearly a million Syrian civilians towards Turkey's southern border.
Turkish officials said the refugee buildup from Idlib was directly linked to Ankara's decision to open the gates for migrants seeking to move to Europe.
They confirmed that Ankara had changed its focus to preparing for the possibility of new arrivals from Syria, instead of stopping migrants already in Turkey from entering Europe.

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