Türkiye nabs 28 attempting illegal border crossing

By Ayse Sensoy Boztepe, Suat Salgin and Kadir Yildiz

ANKARA/BALIKESIR/KOCAELI, Türkiye (AA) – Turkish security forces captured at least 28 people attempting to cross the borders of Greece and Türkiye through illegal means, according to Turkish National Defense Ministry.

“22 individuals attempting to illegally cross from our country to Greece and from Syria to our country, and six people who tried to enter our country from Greece were apprehended by our Border Eagles,” the ministry said on Twitter.

It further said among the apprehended individuals, 16 have been identified as members of the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), while three are affiliated with the PKK/PYD/YPG terror group.

The Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO) and its US-based leader Fetullah Gulen orchestrated the defeated coup, which left 253 people dead and 2,734 injured.

Ankara accuses FETO of being behind a long-running campaign to overthrow the state through the infiltration of Turkish institutions; particularly the military, police, and judiciary.

In its more than 35-year terror campaign against Türkiye, the PKK – listed as a terrorist organization by Türkiye, the US, and the EU – has been responsible for the deaths of more than 40,000 people, including women, children, and infants. The YPG is the terror group’s Syrian offshoot.

- Türkiye rescues 9 irregular migrants pushed back by Greece

Turkish forces rescued nine irregular migrants pushed into Turkish territorial waters by Greek naval forces off the Aegean province of Balikesir, according to authorities.

The Turkish Coast Guard carried out the rescue after learning that there were irregular migrants in inflatable boats off Ayvalik district.

Human rights groups and media outlets have frequently reported on illegal pushbacks and other human rights breaches by Greek authorities. Survivors of a migrant boat sinking last month, where hundreds of migrants are feared drowned, have blamed the deadly incident on a Greek Coast Guard boat trying to tow the migrant craft into Italian territorial waters.

Türkiye and global rights groups have repeatedly condemned Greece’s illegal practice of pushing back asylum seekers and said it violates humanitarian values and international law by endangering the lives of vulnerable migrants, including women and children.