The Turkish Coast Guard rescued\u00a0at least 112\u00a0asylum seekers\u00a0who were pushed into Turkish territorial waters off the Aegean coast by Greek coastal authorities, security sources said Wednesday.<\/p>\n
The Turkish Coast Guard said in a statement\u00a0that a team was dispatched to an area off Cesme\u00a0in western\u00a0Izmir\u00a0province after learning of a group of asylum seekers stranded on a dinghy.<\/p>\n
A total of 26 asylum seekers were taken to the shore, according to the statement.<\/p>\n
Separately, another Turkish Coast Guard team was dispatched\u00a0off the coast of Ayvacik\u00a0in northwestern\u00a0Canakkale\u00a0province and rescued at least 22 asylum seekers.<\/p>\n
Additionally, Turkish Coast Guard personnel in western Mugla province rescued 11 asylum seekers.<\/p>\n
In Izmir province, Turkish Coastal Guard teams were dispatched to an area off Dikili and rescued at least 53 asylum seekers.<\/p>\n
After routine checks, the asylum seekers were taken to the provincial migration authority.<\/p>\n
Turkey has been a key transit point for asylum seekers who want to cross into Europe to start new lives, especially those fleeing war and persecution.<\/p>\n
Earlier this year, Turkey opened its gates to irregular\u00a0migrants, accusing the EU of failing to keep its promises under a 2016\u00a0migrant\u00a0deal.<\/p>\n
Turkey hosts nearly 4 million Syrians, more than any other country in the world.<\/p>\n
AmNews\/News Agencies.<\/em><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Coast guard units rescue migrants abandoned by Greek authorities in Turkish territorial waters The Turkish Coast Guard rescued\u00a0at least 112\u00a0asylum seekers\u00a0who were pushed into Turkish territorial waters off the Aegean coast by Greek coastal authorities, security sources said Wednesday. The Turkish Coast Guard said in a statement\u00a0that a team was dispatched to an area off<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":766,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"twitter_1160854738579181570_1160854738579181570":"","facebook_3558452337540614_100649324928663":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,27,23],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-765","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-general-news","8":"category-europe","9":"category-world-news"},"yoast_head":"\n