108 irregular migrants rescued off Türkiye's western coast

The asylum seekers were rescued by coast guard teams from rubber boats off the western coast of Türkiye's Balıkesir, İzmir, and Muğla provinces.

The Greek Coast Guard had pushed the boat carrying the migrants back to Turkish waters.

The rescued migrants were taken to the provincial migration office.

Turkey has a long history of being a country of origin, transit, and destination for migrants and refugees, given its geographical location.

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

Turkey is currently hosting over 4 million refugees and asylum-seekers, including over 3.7 million Syrians under temporary protection and more than 330,000 asylum-seekers and international protection status holders of other nationalities.

In 2022, the Turkish coast guard reportedly intercepted 285,027 irregular migrants, a significant increase from the 162,000 intercepted in 2021, according to official reports. (ILKHA)