Turkish Coast Guard rescues 153 migrants

ANKARA

CİHAN photo

Turkish Coast Guard teams have rescued more than 150 migrants on the Aegean Sea and the Mediterranean as they were apparently trying to reach Europe, which is attempting to cope with refugees arriving en masse.

The General Staff announced on Sept. 13 that 153 migrants were rescued by the Coast Guard at different locations near the Mediterranean and Aegean provinces of Antalya, Aydın, Çanakkale, İzmir and Muğla on Sept. 12. The brief statement posted on the official website didn’t elaborate on the origin countries of the migrants.
The death of a Syrian toddler whose lifeless body was photographed washed up on a Turkish beach recently became a heart-wrenching symbol of the plight of refugees fleeing war.

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) has said over 430,000 migrants and refugees have crossed the Mediterranean to Europe so far in 2015, with 2,748 dying or going missing en route.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Sept. 12 called on Athens, while facing its own deep economic crisis, to make more of an effort to protect the EU’s external borders.  

“We have a second external border, that’s between Greece and Turkey, where we need protection. And this protection is at the moment not being guaranteed,” she said. “Greece needs to take its responsibility... we will also speak with Turkey.”