Turkey rescues 75 irregular migrants after Greek push-back

A woman reacts on the beach after a dinghy with 54 Afghan refugees landed ashore the Greek island of Lesbos on February 28, 2020 [ARIS MESSINIS/AFP via Getty Images]

The Turkish Coast Guard units, on Friday, rescued dozens of irregular migrants off western Izmir province after they were pushed back into Turkey’s territorial waters.

According to a statement by the Coast Guard on its website, a total of 75 irregular migrants were saved amid three separate operations conducted off the districts of Cesme, Menderes, and Dikili.

They were later referred to the provincial migration office for official procedures.

Also, 181 other irregular migrants were caught by Turkish security elements in the eastern province of Bitlis and north-western Kocaeli province.

All 149 held in Bitlis were of Afghan nationality, while the human smugglers were arrested.

READ: Turkey blocks migrants’ return from Aegean by Greece

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