By Mustafa Gungor
IZMIR, Türkiye (AA) – Turkish security forces rescued 24 irregular migrants off the coast of Türkiye’s Aegean Izmir province, the Turkish Coast Guard said on Sunday.
A coast guard boat was dispatched to the area on a tip that a group of irregular migrants was in an inflatable boat near the Dikili district, the Coast Guard Command said in a statement.
They were pushed back by Greek forces back into Turkish territorial waters, the statement added.
The teams brought the irregular migrants ashore.
The irregular migrants were handed over to the Provincial Immigration Directorate after necessary procedures.
Türkiye and global rights groups have repeatedly condemned Greece’s illegal practice of pushing back asylum seekers, saying it violates humanitarian values and international law by endangering the lives of vulnerable migrants, including women and children.
*Writing by Merve Berker