Turkish Coast Guard Command said on its website that coast guard teams rescued the asylum seekers from rubber boats off the coasts of Dikili and Karaburun districts of Turkey’s western Izmir province.

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

The rescued migrants were referred to the provincial migration offices, the statement said.

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, the Turkish coast guard intercepted 21473 irregular migrants in 2021, up from 19368 in 2020. (ILKHA)