German Chancellor Angela Merkel and other European Union officials visited a refugee camp on the Turkish-Syrian border Saturday, one month after helping finalize a controversial EU plan to cope with the largest migration crisis since World War II.
Merkel's visit to the Nizip camp -- a sprawling complex where migrants are housed in tents and metal containers, about 30 miles east of the southern Turkish city of Gaziantep -- is intended to counter opponents of a contentious deal that has been criticized by human rights groups.
Under the terms of the March 18 agreement between the EU and Turkey, migrants who cross into Greece illegally after March 20 are being sent back to Turkey.
For every Syrian sent back to Turkey, a vetted Syrian refugee will go from Turkey to Europe to be resettled, although the maximum number is capped at 72,000 people. In return, the EU will give Turkey billions in funding to help it provide for the migrants within its borders, and grant various political concessions.
