Thread by @Europa_Insider

🇹🇷🇬🇷 A THREAD ON THE CARAVAN OF LIGHT: A CONVOY OF 100,000+ MIGRANTS SEEKING TO ENTER THE EUROPEAN UNION VIA A MASS MOBILISATION EFFORT TO STORM THE GREEK BORDER (23/09/2022):

#Caravan_of_Light #Convoy_of_Light #قافلة_النور

🇹🇷🇬🇷 Many migrants participating in the Caravan of Light spend their last night in Istanbul and Bursa, the final transit points of Asia Minor on the way to Eastern Thrace, before they head to the border city of Edirne in the morning #Caravan_of_Light #Convoy_of_Light #قافلة_النور

🇹🇷🇬🇷 Edirne is a city with an estimated population of 185,408 residents. It is 3.24 miles from the Greek border at its closest point. #Caravan_of_Light #Convoy_of_Light #قافلة_النور

🇹🇷🇬🇷 One of the leaders of the convoy posts a video of himself driving over the 15 July Martyrs Bridge in Istanbul that connects Asia with Europe via the Bosphorus strait. #Caravan_of_Light #Convoy_of_Light #قافلة_النور

🇹🇷🇬🇷 The Emotional Well-Being Institute, an international human rights organisation in Geneva announced it has received the file of the caravan and referred it to the UN Council and in turn demanded that civil society organisations protect the migrant convoy during its departure.

🇹🇷🇬🇷 The organisation says they give their full backing to the 100,000 strong migrant caravan, dubbed the "Caravan of Light," which is preparing to cross into the European Union in the coming days. #Caravan_of_Light #Convoy_of_Light #قافلة_النور

"We fully accept and support them and we have asked other United Nation bodies to maintain sights on the convoy and to protect it from any violence or military action against them which will be a violation of the International convention on human rights."

🇹🇷🇬🇷 Supervisors affiliated with the caravan are now present at the assembly point in Edirne and work is underway to secure a location for the convoy to begin.

🇹🇷🇬🇷 Ali Kassar, acting president of the Emotional Well-Being Institute, says roughly 115,000 migrants are preparing to cross Greece's land border from the Turkish city of Edirne. #Caravan_of_Light #Convoy_of_Light #قافلة_النور

Mr. Kassar's organisation has put the United Nations on notice to ensure the convoy's safe passage and warns that any violence or military action taken against the migrant caravan will bear the "full responsibility" of the UN.

🇹🇷🇬🇷 Caravan of Light's 3rd press statement:

"We announce the start of the [migrant] convoy in less than 24 hours, and accordingly we ask our brothers to quickly secure their equipment & prepare to go to the assembly point, which will be announced later in a separate statement."

🇹🇷🇬🇷 It's worth noting that a convoy of the Turkish Armed Forces transferred to Edirne just last week.

If you recall, the previous migrant incident between Greece and Turkey in March 2020 involved hybrid warfare, where there was alleged footage of vehicles from the Turkish military dismantling Greece's border fence so that migrants could pass through.

🇹🇷🇬🇷 BREAKING: The Caravan of Light, a migrant convoy of an estimated 100,000 migrants gathered in Edirne, Turkey who aim to travel to Western Europe announce they will organise a full mobilisation and storming of the Greek border on Saturday. #Caravan_of_Light #قافلة_النور

🇹🇷🇬🇷 Statement in Arabic:

🇹🇷🇬🇷 We were one of the first to break the news about the migrant convoy and now even mainstream media channels & outlets are confirming what our loyal subscribers were informed of long ago.

We have local sources & intelligence to ensure we're always one step ahead of the curve!

🇹🇷🇬🇷 Internal communications from the Caravan of Light reveal that organisers wish for the convoy to be a success at it would inspire further caravans of migrants to penetrate Europe's southern borders in the hundreds of thousands in the future. #Caravan_of_Light #قافلة_النور

Translation:
"I promise you that organising the convoy will be an example for all countries of the world to follow.

We prove that Syrians around the world can unite under a unified leadership stemming from the womb of the blessed Syrian revolution...

... As united under the name of the Caravan of Light, the way to Europe."

🇹🇷🇬🇷 Video posted by a Caravan of Light organiser.

🇹🇷🇬🇷 A breakaway group of the Caravan of Light consisting of around 150 men, presumably migrants impatient with the speed at which the caravan is being assembled, tried to cross the Evros river last night. In the video they say they were mugged at gunpoint on the border.

The organisers of the Caravan of Light say they disavow the group for not following protocol and putting migrants in harm's way.

🇹🇷🇬🇷 A participant in the splinter group of around 150 migrants who tried to rush the border early, communicated with one of the leaders of the Caravan of Light and warned him of the dangers that lie ahead. He said the group was forced to turn back from the border.

🇹🇷🇧🇬 This morning the Caravan of Light posted the precise geolocation of where the convoy would start, and in a surprising turn of events announced the Bulgarian border would be stormed, rather than the Greek one. #Caravan_of_Light #قافلة_النور

maps.app.goo.gl/eAQpRVd1rR6NDu…

However, Turkish law enforcement who had been tracking the convoy's movements stopped them in their tracks and gave them clear "messages" to stop progressing northwards and instead instructed them in the direction of Greece's border.

🇹🇷🇬🇷 The Caravan of Light explained the change of plans that happened at approximately 1PM this afternoon.

In the recording, the convoy organiser states that at first, the point of crossing was specified to be on the Bulgarian border, but the Turkish police knew about the convoy's intentions and turned them back in the direction of Edirne, by the border with Greece.

He then clarifies that the Caravan of Light will go ahead with the project until the end, despite the most recent incident, and announced that the new crossing is now on the Greek border.

🇹🇷🇬🇷 The Caravan of Light posts a new location for the convoy into Europe. An expected 100,000 migrants, mostly Syrian, have been instructed to mobilise at the new assembly point in preparation for crossing Greece's border. #Caravan_of_Light #قافلة_النور

maps.app.goo.gl/a3kovUC6jHzcN6…

🇹🇷🇬🇷 Turkish media arrived at the location of the migrant convoy and began filming the participants with the permission of the organisers. It's unclear which media outlet the journalist works for.

🇹🇷🇬🇷 BREAKING: The Caravan of Light has been postponed indefinitely. #caravan_of_light #convoy_of_light

Translated from Arabic:

Based on everything we've read in the various Caravan of Light groups (both official and unofficial), it seems the whole thing was pretty poorly organised. Whilst organisers lay the blame on "the smugglers" (often alluded to in the group) and the militarised situation at the...

... border, many of the convoy participants are accusing organisers of being ill-prepared and disorganised. A lot of migrants say they are angry about the fact that there's no visible leader calling the shots and that the organisers are posting all instructions anonymously to...

... avoid being detained or taken out by smuggler groups/mafia that operate on the border.

While supervisors are telling people that they're packing their bags and leaving, many are saying they will stay and contemplate crossing the border regardless. So, there's still some chance that splinter groups gathered by the Evros river will attempt to cross, but without...

... the same numbers and level of organisation that was initially expected.

🚨 Unless anything new happens, we'll now discontinue any further coverage of the convoy.