Lhe Greek authorities, accused by NGOs of illegal deportations of exiles to Turkish waters or territory, have tightened their border controls.
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This is the largest migration attempt to Greece this year. Some 600 exiles were prevented from crossing the Aegean Sea and entering Greece from neighboring Turkey on Monday (May 23), the Greek coastguard announced.
Five sailboats and four dinghies left the Turkish coast almost simultaneously on Monday morning, and were in Turkish waters near the Greek islands of Chios and Samos, when the Greek coast guard intervened, AFP reported. one of their spokespersons.
“Greek patrol boats were able to quickly locate the vessels and inform the Turkish coast guard”, he said, pointing out that all the boats either turned back or were intercepted by the Turkish coast guard. All the boats were then “within Turkish territorial waters”he added.
Athens regularly accuses Ankara of not taking enough action against smugglers, who send migrants in makeshift boats from Turkey, in violation of a 2016 agreement between Ankara and the EU.
For their part, the Greek authorities, accused by NGOs of illegal refoulement of exiles to Turkish waters or territory, have tightened their border controls. Athens has always denied carrying out such illegal pushbacks.