The Turkish Coast Guard Command early on Friday said it rescued dozens of irregular migrants pushed back by Greece along the Aegean coast and caught dozens more attempting to make the crossing.
Some 16 migrants were found drifting on two rubber boats after being pushed back by Greek elements into Turkish territorial waters off the coast of Dikili and Çeşme districts in western Izmir province, the agency said.
It also picked up 52 other migrants, including 16 children, who were trying to attempt to cross to Greece on rubber boats in the same region.
Separately, it said it found 30 migrants, including four children, on two life rafts pushed back by Greece toward the coast of Muğla’s Datça and Marmaris districts.
On a Marmaris coast, the agency found 20 migrants preparing to set out on a boat.
All migrants have been handed over to the provincial migration directorate for processing, the agency added.
Greece, one of the gateways into the European Union for refugees and migrants from the Middle East, Asia and Africa, has been accused by aid groups of forcibly ejecting migrants at its sea and land borders, also known as “pushbacks,” an illegal practice.
Türkiye itself is a key transit point for irregular migrants who want to cross into Europe to start new lives, especially since the beginning of the Syrian civil war in 2011. Every year, hundreds of thousands of migrants flee civil conflict or economic hardship in their home countries with the hope of reaching Europe.
Some migrants make dangerous journeys over land or sea with the assistance of smugglers, who often abandon them, especially during sea journeys, after receiving thousands of dollars from each migrant. Turkish security forces stop others before crossing the border into Europe.
The latest statistics, between 2010 and 2023, show Türkiye rescued 184,175 irregular migrants from its seas after they put their lives in danger with the hope of reaching Europe. Some 923 migrants, on the other hand, ended up dead on perilous journeys in the same period, while 503 people remain unaccounted for after their boats sank.
Last month, Turkish authorities recovered the bodies of seven irregular migrants. They rescued 18 others in the Aegean off the coast of an islet after their boat was pushed back by Greek security forces and hit the tricks, sinking with 27 on board.
Smuggling gangs repeatedly attempt to bring migrants across the shallow waters of the river – known in Greek as Maritsa and in Turkish as Meriç – from Türkiye to Greece and thereby into the EU during the summer drought. Greece is currently constructing a fence along this border to prevent illegal crossings.
According to the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, 3,168 people have taken this route from Türkiye to Greece since the beginning of the year through July 14.
Relations with Türkiye are often tense, and the Turkish coast guard has repeatedly accused the Greek side of mistreating migrants.
Migrant charities and human rights groups have also accused Greece’s coast guard and police of illegally preventing arriving migrants from seeking asylum via Turkish waters.
Greece has angrily denied the accusations, arguing its border forces have saved hundreds of thousands of migrants from sinking boats.