Turkey rescues asylum seekers turned back by Greece

Migrants hold placards reading ‘open the border gates’ as they continue to wait in Edirne, Turkey to reach Greece on 3 March 2020 [Gökhan Zobar/Anadolu Agency]

The Turkish authorities yesterday rescued 49 asylum seekers who were turned back by Greece and forced to head for Izmir on Turkey’s west coast.

“Our officers received a report from the Greek authorities that a rubber boat carrying asylum seekers was approaching our territorial waters,” said the Turkish Coast Guard Command. “The coastal teams managed to rescue 32 asylum seekers after the Greek coast guards pushed them back towards Turkish waters.” Another 13 refugees in a rubber boat were rescued off the Karaburun coast.

The coast guard also revealed that a further four asylum seekers were rescued off the Çeşme coast. All of the refugees were referred to the Directorate General of Migration Management in Izmir after their papers had been processed.

READ: 205 migrants held across Turkey

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