13 irregular migrants rescued off Aegean

AYDIN

A total of 13 irregular migrants have been rescued from a rubber boat in the Aegean Sea off the coast of the country’s western town of Kuşadası on April 26.

Turkish Coast Guard Command teams were dispatched to the region upon the information that there were migrants in life rafts off Aydın’s Kuşadası district.

The teams rescued 13 migrants pushed back into Turkish territorial waters by Greek authorities. The migrants were handed over to the provincial migration administration after their procedures at the police station.

The incident is the latest in a series of attempts by irregular migrants to reach European shores via Türkiye, which has been a major transit point for refugees fleeing conflicts and economic hardships in the Middle East and Asia.

Last month, Turkish authorities intercepted a group of 44 migrants, including women and children, who were attempting to cross the Aegean Sea to reach Greece. The migrants were from Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, and Syria.

Türkiye, which already hosts over 5 million refugees, more than any country in the world, has been trying to prevent a new wave of migration to Europe.