The Turkish Coast Guard Command on Monday rescued 81 irregular migrants who were pushed back into Turkey's territorial waters by Greek forces off the provinces of Muğla, Izmir and Aydın.
Coast guard units reached the irregular migrants who had drifted into Turkish territory after receiving information that groups in Muğla's Bodrum and Datça districts needed help.
Twenty-two irregular migrants, including women and children, were rescued from three rubber boats by coast guard units off the coast of the Datça, while 18 others struggling on rubber boats were helped to shore in the Bodrum district.
Separately, the rescue units saved 41 irregular migrants stranded in rubber boats that experienced engine failure off the provinces of Izmir and Aydın.
The rescued migrants were sent to the provincial migration directorate after formalities.
The incident comes weeks after 19 migrants were found frozen to death on the Turkey-Greece border. Turkey said it found the bodies close to the Greek border, accusing Athens of allowing the migrants to die in the winter cold after stripping them of their clothes, stealing their valuable possessions and forcing them back across the border. However, Greece rejects the accusations.
Turkey's five Aegean provinces – Çanakkale, Balıkesir, Izmir, Muğla and Aydın – are prime spots for refugees to leave Turkey for the European Union, with Greek islands within sight of the Turkish coast.
Most try to cross into Greece – a key gateway to the European Union for people fleeing war or poverty – by either crossing the northeastern land border or cramming into boats headed for the eastern Aegean Sea islands.
Pushbacks are considered a violation of the international refugee protection agreements, which dictate that people should not be expelled or returned to a country where their life and safety might be in danger due to their race, religion, nationality, or membership in a social or political group.
