UPDATES WITH NEWLY RESCUED IRREGULAR MIGRANTS, CHANGES HEADLINE, LEDE, BYLINE AND DATELINE
By Gokhan Duzyol, Ali Balli and Ali Korkmaz
AYDIN / MUGLA / IZMIR, Türkiye (AA) – The Turkish Coast Guard rescued 181 irregular migrants in the Aegean Sea after Greek authorities illegally pushed them back into Turkish territorial waters, said an official statement issued on Saturday.
The Turkish Coast Guard said in the statement that in an operation after Greek authorities pushed back 69 illegal migrants into Turkish territorial waters in the Aegean Sea, its teams rescued them off the coast of the western province of Izmir.
Earlier, the Turkish authority said in an earlier statement that coast guard units rescued 11 irregular migrants from a rubber boat off the coast of Mugla's Bodrum district, and 101 others were saved in two separate operations off the coast of Kusadasi district in Aydin province after the Greek authorities pushed them back into the territorial waters of Türkiye.
The irregular migrants were later taken to the provincial migration authorities.
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