Turkiye rescued over 11,000 migrants in Aegean Sea in 7 months

Turkish coast guards rescue migrants who were pushed back to Turkish territorial waters by Greek coast guards in Izmir, Turkey on 24 December 2021 [Mehmet Emin Mengüarslan/Anadolu Agency]

Turkiye rescued over 11,000 irregular migrants in the Aegean Sea in the past seven months.

According to the information compiled from the Turkish Coast Guard Command website, the teams rescued 11,111 migrants in the Aegean Sea between 1 January and 31 July.

A total of`9,973 migrants were illegally pushed back to Turkish territorial waters by Greek coast guards, the coast guards said. Some 1,138 others were stranded in the Aegean Sea for various reasons.

Since the beginning of this year, the most push-backs were recorded in July with 1,933 migrants forced to retreat.

The teams also recovered the bodies of seven migrants and detained 80 smugglers.

Turkiye has been a key transit point for asylum seekers aiming to cross into Europe to start new lives, especially those fleeing war and persecution in Afghanistan and Syria.

READ: Drone footage captures Greek pushback of irregular migrants to Turkish territorial waters

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