Turkish Coast Guard Command said on its website that coast guard teams rescued at least 66 asylum seekers from two rubber boats off the coast of Menderes and Dikili Datça districts in southwestern Muğla province.

According to the statement, the boats carrying irregular migrants were pushed back to Turkish territorial waters by Greek Coast Guard forces.

Historically, Turkey has been a country of origin, transit, and destination for migrants and was a crossroads between Europe and Asia.

Recent regional events have contributed to Turkey increasingly becoming a major destination and transit country for those fleeing conflict, poverty, and disasters.

Turkey hosts one of the largest migrant and refugee populations in the world with 4 million refugees and asylum-seekers in the country, including over 3.7 million Syrians under temporary protection and over 330,000 international protection status holders and asylum-seekers of other nationalities.

According to the official reports, 113,865 irregular migrants held across the country in 2020. (ILKHA)