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Türkiye rescues around 100 migrants after Greece pushback

In two separate operations, the Turkish Coast Guard rescued 92 irregular migrants in the Aegean after Greek authorities forced their boats back to sea.

AA

Nearly 100 irregular migrants were saved by Türkiye after Greece's pushback practice. / Photo: AA

The Turkish Coast Guard has rescued 35 irregular migrants in the Aegean Sea who were illegally pushed back into Turkish territorial waters by Greek authorities.

Coast Guard Northern Aegean Group Command on Monday determined that there were irregular migrants in a life raft off the coast of Ayvacik, Canakkale.

The migrants were from Afghanistan, Iran, and Iraq.

Separately, 57 irregular migrants were also caught in a rubber boat.

After the necessary procedures, the migrants, who were brought ashore, were transferred to the Ayvacik Immigration Office.

EU border agency complicit in Greek refugee pushback campaign

Greece's migrant pushbacks

Türkiye and global rights groups have repeatedly condemned Greece’s illegal practice of pushing back irregular migrants, saying it violates humanitarian values and international law by endangering the lives of vulnerable migrants, including women and children.

Hundreds of migrants are feared dead from a migrant boat sinking last week off southwestern Greece.

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

Türkiye has been a key transit point for irregular migrants wanting to cross into Europe to start new lives, especially those fleeing war and persecution.