Türkiye rescues dozens of migrants pushed back by Greece

Turkish authorities have once again rescued dozens of irregular migrants pushed into the country’s territorial waters by Greece.

Thirtynine irregular migrants were rescued off the coast of the Kusadasi district of Türkiye’s western Aydin province on Monday, according to a statement made by the Turkish Coast Guard Command.

The rescue operation came upon information that there was a group of irregular migrants in a rubber boat off the coast of Kusadasi.

A coast guard boat was dispatched to the area, and the teams rescued 39 irregular migrants who were pushed into Turkish territorial waters by Greek elements.

The irregular migrants were then sent to the Provincial Directorate of Migration Management following procedures.

Greece's migrant pushbacks

Türkiye and global rights groups have repeatedly condemned Greece’s illegal practice of pushing back irregular migrants.

Pushbacks not only violate humanitarian values, but also international law, by endangering the lives of vulnerable refugees and migrants including women and children.

Athens is infamous for its cruel treatment of refugees and migrants. Hundreds of refugees and migrants were feared dead from a migrant boat that sank off southwestern Greece on June 14.

As many as 750 people may have been on board the 30-metre-long fishing boat that capsized and sank about 80 kilometres from Greece’s southern coastal town of Pylos.

Just over 100 people survived the shipwreck, and 82 bodies have been recovered so far. Hundreds of refugees and migrants are still missing.

Some accounts suggest the accident happened when a Greek Coast Guard vessel tried to tow the overcrowded migrant boat into Italian waters.