The Turkish coast guard on Wednesday said it rescued 18 irregular migrants and apprehended another group of the same size in several other operations in the Aegean Sea.
Eighteen migrants were brought ashore after their boat began drifting in the Aegean Sea off the coast of the Ayvacık district in northwestern Türkiye's Çanakkale province after its engine failed, the coast guard said.
After the coast guard's North Aegean Group Command detected the inflatable watercraft, it dispatched a vessel to the area, where it rescued 18 migrants of Yemeni and Syrian nationality.
The migrants were subsequently taken to the Ayvacık Deportation Center after processing.
In another operation further south, 37 irregular migrants, including two children, were intercepted off the coast of Çeşme district in Izmir province, also on the Aegean Sea coast.
After official procedures by authorities, the migrants were handed over to the Provincial Directorate of Migration Management.
Türkiye has been 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 conflict or economic hardship in their home countries with the hope of reaching 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.
In 2023, authorities intercepted 254,000 irregular migrants and arrested 3,744 migrant smuggling organizers.
In the past week alone, the Turkish coast guard captured over 550 irregular migrants in the same Aegean region.
More than 3,150 migrants died or disappeared in the Mediterranean last year, according to the U.N.'s International Organization for Migration.
The central Mediterranean is the deadliest known migration route in the world, accounting for 80% of the deaths and disappearances in the Mediterranean.
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.
Others are stopped by Turkish security forces before crossing the border into Europe.
While many make it to the EU, many others perish at sea or are pushed back by Greece into Turkish waters in violation of international law. Athens’ illegal practice has been documented by Türkiye, international human rights groups and charities on many occasions, as well as in accounts of migrants intercepted in the Aegean or land borders.
Greece this week rejected a BBC report accusing its coast guard of brutally preventing migrants from reaching Greek shores and causing the deaths of dozens of migrants.
BBC said it had been ascertained that 43 migrants drowned – including nine who were thrown into the water – in 15 incidents off Greece's eastern Aegean Sea islands in 2020-2023. It cited interviews with eyewitnesses, following reports from media, charities and the Turkish coast guard.
Türkiye, which already hosts 4 million refugees, more than any other country in the world, is taking new measures at its borders to prevent a fresh influx of migrants, balancing a humanitarian policy and the need to stop thousands from risking their lives.
As most irregular migrants try to infiltrate Türkiye through its eastern borders, the country recently began constructing a security wall. Authorities say 80% of the wall and a 1,234-kilometer (767-mile) patrolling strip next to the wall are completed, with the remaining section set to be completed within the year.
The Directorate of Migration set up “mobile migration points” to speed up the processing of irregular migrants. The migration points, the first of their kind in the world, help law enforcement in the field check for irregular migrants.
