Turkish coast guard detains 93 illegal migrants

11/8/2015 2:29:49 AM

(MENAFN- The Peninsula) Refugees andmigrantsboard Turkish Coast Guard Search and Rescue ship Umut-703 off the shores of CanakkaleTurkey after a failed attempt of crossing to the Greek island of Lesbos November 7 2015. REUTERS

Ankara: Turkish Coast Guard has detained 93 illegal migrants in operations off the country's western coast the military said.

An Anadolu News Agency report says 11 refugees were found aboard an inflatable boat drifting off Izmir's resort town of Cesme while 35 others were rescued off Mugla's Turgutreis on Saturday

Sixty-four people were also rescued off Aydin's Didim town the Turkish General Staff said in a statement. The remaining 145 were rescued off the shore of Canakkale's Ayvacik town it added.

The four provinces of Izmir Mugla Aydin and Canakkale – which face Greek islands in the Aegean and Mediterranean seas – are prime spots for refugees leaving Turkey for the EU.

At least 3138 refugees have died crossing the Mediterranean Sea so far this year according to the International Organization for Migration.

According to the UN's Refugee Agency the total number of arrivals in 2015 so far in Europe via the Mediterranean is now over 643000 people.

QNA

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