1,800 Syrians captured on Aegean Sea in four days

The Turkish Coast Guard has captured almost 1,800 migrants on the Aegean Sea as they attempted to illegally cross to Greece in just the past four days, according to figures from the state organization.

Meanwhile, 10 Syrian migrants swam back to the Turkish shore after their dinghy sank about 100 meters off the coast Aug. 11.

A total of 1,799 illegal migrants en route to Greece were caught on the Aegean in 44 separate operations from Aug. 7 to Aug. 10, while two human smugglers were also detained during the same period, the Turkish Coast Guard Command said in a written statement on Aug. 10.

On Aug. 11, 10 migrants of Syrian origin came ashore in the Yalıkavak neighborhood of the Aegean district of Bodrum after swimming from about 100 meters off shore when their dinghy to Greece began sinking.

The migrants passed through a beach club in the resort town of Bodrum while some of the guests of a hotel were doing yoga on the beach. The guests paused their activities for a while and watched as the Syrian migrants walked by and boarded a minibus to reach the city center.

Following a tip that a boat had sunk, Turkish Coast Guards launched an operation to rescue the 10 migrants but terminated the search efforts after they found no traces of anyone in the sea.

The Coast Guard Command said that of the 1,799 migrants captured within four days on the Aegean, some 609 migrants were caught in the western province of İzmir’s Seferihisar, Foça, Menderes, Karaburun and Çeşme districts in nine separate operations, while 389 of them were captured off Çanakkale’s Ayvacık district. Some 468 migrants were also seized in 20 separate operations in Muğla’s Bodrum and Marmaris districts.

On the same day, the Turkish Coast Guard rescued 330 Syrians adrift in the Aegean Sea after failing to reach Greece. 

Several of the 330 refugees said their boat had been stopped by armed Greek coastguard officers who ordered them to dump fuel, stranding them at sea, Reuters reported. A spokesman for the Greek coastguard, Nikolaos Lagadianos, said it “categorically denied” the allegations, saying an incident had taken place off the Turkish town of Bodrum, further south, but that the Greek authorities had not been involved...
  hurriyetdailynews.com
11/8/15