Turkey rescues migrants: Pushback accusation against Greece

More than 70 migrants have been rescued from the Mediterranean Sea by the Turkish Coast Guard. Allegedly, they were previously abandoned by Greece on life rafts in Turkish waters. Athens denies that.

The Turkish coast guard claims to have rescued 73 migrants in the Mediterranean who were said to have been pushed back by Greek authorities. Six people – including two babies and three children – were found dead, the state news channel TRT reported, citing the authority. Five people are also missing.

Greece denied allegations of dumping dozens of migrants on rafts in the Mediterranean. “The statement by the Turkish coast guard is categorically denied,” it said in a statement. Rather, the incident took place in Turkish territorial waters. Your own officials had nothing to do with it, stressed the headquarters of the Greek coast guard.

From wooden boats to rafts?

According to the Turkish account, the migrants were traveling from Lebanon to Italy in a 15-meter-long wooden boat. When the petrol ran out, they asked the Greek coast guard off the island of Rhodes for help. Instead, they dropped the migrants on four life rafts near the Turkish coastal waters. The incident happened on Tuesday night.

There was initially no information about the nationality of the rescued. According to Turkish sources, they said they boarded in the Lebanese city of Tripoli and tried to get to Italy.

Greece is accused of pushbacks

Greece is repeatedly accused by human rights organizations of so-called pushbacks – i.e. the illegal pushing back of migrants – into Turkey. Athens regularly rejects the allegations and speaks of so-called “pushforwards”, with which migrants are pushed by Turkish security forces by land or sea to Greece in order to get into the EU.

Greece admitted on Sunday that it had barred more than 150,000 people from entering its land and sea borders since the beginning of the year, 25,000 people in August alone. Greece is often the first stop in Europe for migrants from Africa and the Middle East. Thousands cross the Turkish-Greek border on the Evros River or risk the dangerous crossing of the Aegean Sea.