Greek border police fired tear gas Wednesday morning at hundreds of migrants trying to enter from Turkey, while Athens authorities were moving on their plan to rapidly deport people still arriving on the Aegean islands.

TV reports showed police shooting tear gas canisters across the border fence, a regular occurrence since Turkey stopped blocking migrants from attempts to reach Greece and Europe last week.

Tear gas canisters could also be seen flying the other way. It was not immediately clear who fired those.

According to Greek sources, some 12,500 migrants were massed across the border, in the Evros region in the north-east.

Meanwhile, the Greek navy deployed a ship to Lesbos, planning to take newly arrived migrants aboard and keep them there until their transfer to a closed camp on the mainland.

From there, the migrants are to be swiftly deported to their countries, a coastguard officer told dpa on the island.

Migrants still arriving on other Aegean islands are also being detained for transfer. More than 900 people have set sail for the Greek islands since Turkey lifted its blockade on February 29, though there have been no new arrivals since Tuesday due to stormy weather.

Tens of thousands of migrants had already been stranded on the islands.

Greece reacted to Turkey‘s step with a new, tough approach and seeks to seal its land border, as countries on the Balkan migration route did in 2015-2016.

Athens said on Sunday it would no longer accept asylum applications for a month and plans to expel all those arriving in the meantime with an expedited procedure.

Source: dpa/MIA