Turkey on Saturday released footage purportedly showing Greece illegally pushing back migrants into Turkish territorial waters, Turkey’s state-run Anadolu Agency reported.
“On September 9, 2022, a Turkish Navy UAV detected irregular migrants being transferred to an inflatable boat and pushed back towards Turkish territorial waters by a Greek Coast Guard boat off Bodrum,” Turkey’s National Defence Ministry said on Twitter.
“The situation was immediately reported to the Turkish Coast Guard, which rescued the irregular migrants,” the post added, accompanied by minute-long video.
The video appears to show people being transferred from a boat to an inflatable boat, which is then travels away.
Historic rivals and also NATO allies, Greece and Turkey have been at odds over a range of issues, including migration and energy resources in recent years.
Ankara accuses Athens of endangering the lives of migrants by refusing them entry and pushing them towards Turkish territory.
Greece was the frontline of Europe’s migration crisis in 2015 and 2016 when a million refugees fleeing war and poverty from Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan arrived, mainly via Turkey.
The number of arrivals has fallen sharply since then, but in recent months, Greek authorities said they have stopped a significant number of people from entering.
Source: The New Arab
