Published : 15-06-2020
Turkey's Coast Guard Command rescued 42 asylum-seekers late Thursday from a boat pushed back by Greece's Hellenic Coast Guard.
Acting on a tip, Turkish rescue teams were sent to a region in Izmir province's Foça district. The asylum-seekers were found on a rubber boat and were disembarked.
Turkey and Greece have been key transit points for asylum-seekers, refugees and migrants seeking to cross into Europe to start new lives, especially those fleeing war and persecution.
Turkey earlier this year opened its gates for irregular migrants wanting to cross to Europe, accusing the European Union of failing to keep its promises under a 2016 migrant deal.
Greece's response to those trying to enter the country without prior authorization has been harsh, with at least three migrants having been killed by Greek security forces along the land border with Turkey. Many others have been battered and teargassed.
Human Rights Watch urged Greece and the EU to respect human rights in light of Turkey's new policy of refusing to halt migrants and refugees trying to leave for Greece.
Ankara already hosts over 3.5 million Syrian migrants, more than any other country in the world, and says it cannot handle another wave.
So far this year, Turkey's Coast Guard Command has rescued hundreds of migrants and asylum-seekers off the Aegean coast after they were forced by Greece into Turkish territorial waters.
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) on Thursday voiced alarm over reports of pushbacks and collective expulsions of migrants, in some cases violent, from Greece.
Turkey's Coast Guard Command rescued 42 asylum-seekers late Thursday from a boat pushed back by Greece's Hellenic Coast Guard.
Acting on a tip, Turkish rescue teams were sent to a region in Izmir province's Foça district. The asylum-seekers were found on a rubber boat and were disembarked.
Turkey and Greece have been key transit points for asylum-seekers, refugees and migrants seeking to cross into Europe to start new lives, especially those fleeing war and persecution.
Turkey earlier this year opened its gates for irregular migrants wanting to cross to Europe, accusing the European Union of failing to keep its promises under a 2016 migrant deal.
Greece's response to those trying to enter the country without prior authorization has been harsh, with at least three migrants having been killed by Greek security forces along the land border with Turkey. Many others have been battered and teargassed.
Human Rights Watch urged Greece and the EU to respect human rights in light of Turkey's new policy of refusing to halt migrants and refugees trying to leave for Greece.
Ankara already hosts over 3.5 million Syrian migrants, more than any other country in the world, and says it cannot handle another wave.
So far this year, Turkey's Coast Guard Command has rescued hundreds of migrants and asylum-seekers off the Aegean coast after they were forced by Greece into Turkish territorial waters.
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) on Thursday voiced alarm over reports of pushbacks and collective expulsions of migrants, in some cases violent, from Greece.
