Turkish coast guard rescues 15 irregular migrants off Aegean Sea coast

15 irregular migrants were rescued from an inflatable boat off the coast of Turkey’s western Izmir province, Turkish Coast Guard Command said in a statement on Friday.

Ekleme: 21.01.2022 09:46:03 / Güncelleme: 21.01.2022 09:46:03 / English News / İzmir Haberleri
Destek için 

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

The rescued migrants were sent to the Provincial Directorate of Migration Management after their official procedures had been completed, officials 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. 

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