Turkiye nabs 200 irregular migrants, rescues 25 others

By Esra Tekin

ISTANBUL (AA) – The Turkish Coast Guard detained 200 irregular migrants on Tuesday who were traveling by boat in the Aegean Sea, while 25 migrants who were pushed back into Turkish territorial waters by Greek authorities were brought ashore.

Coast guard units nabbed 166 irregular migrants off Dikili and Selcuklu districts in Izmir province on Türkiye’s Aegean coast, the Turkish Coast Guard Command said in a statement.

Twenty-five irregular migrants who were pushed back into Turkish territorial waters by Greek authorities on board a rubber boat off Seferihisar district in Izmir province were also rescued by coast guard units, the statement added.

Separately, coast guard units apprehended 34 irregular migrants in Türkiye’s Aydin province, the command said in a statement.

The migrants were 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.