120 asylum seekers rescued off Turkey's western coast

The Turkish Coast Guard rescued 120 asylum seekers yesterday after Greek authorities forced them to return to Turkish territorial waters off the coast of Aydin state, Anadolu Agency reports.

Security sources told Anadolu Agency that the Turkish Coast Guard went to the coast of Kas Island after receiving a report of the presence of asylum seekers on two rubber boats.

The sources indicated that the teams rescued 120 asylum seekers and it was found that Greek forces forced them to return to Turkish territorial waters. The nationalities of those rescued has not been published.

The teams transported the asylum seekers to land before handing them over to the state’s Directorate of Migration Management.

Last month, The Turkish Coast Guard rescued a group of asylum seekers who were abandoned by a Greek Coast Guard boat on an uninhabited Turkish island.

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