Greece has faced accusations of illegally pushing asylum seekers back to Turkey for years. Turkish activist fleeing persecution are reportedly among the victims of these pushbacks, facing increasingly hostile Greek border authorities.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has expressed plans to send around one million Syrian refugees back to their country. The President said that the plans were at an "advanced" stage.
Greek police have reportedly rescued a group of asylum seekers, among them 10 children from a tiny island in the Evros river. This comes days after a woman was shot dead at the river separating Turkey from Greece.
Turkish newspaper Hürriyet has reported that at least 246 irregular migrants have been detained in three separate "security operations" across Turkey.
Greece has denied media reports alleging that the country might be involved in pushbacks at sea. The government has accused its neighbor Turkey of deliberately spreading fake news.
Turkish Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu has lashed out at Greek authorities repeatedly in recent days, accusing the country of the deliberate mistreatment of migrants. Soylu has slammed Greece for committing acts of gross negligence amounting to manslaughter on at least two recent occasions.
According to a blog post from the human rights organization Aegean Boat Report, this week 25 migrants from Afghanistan reached the Greek island of Lesbos, only to be rounded up and set adrift by armed "commandos." The group, which includes 17 small children, are now at a center in Turkey.
A study, carried out by the WHO and published in World Psychiatry on January 11, indicates that a course of self-help for refugees experiencing psychological distress can be effective at preventing the development of a mental disorder.
Migrants are among the demographics suffering the most under Turkey's current economic downturn. With no options left, many turn to digging through trash to make any money at all. Afghan refugees and migrants are particularly hard hit by the crisis.
Turkish authorities detained 164 migrants and refugees – most of them Afghans – after they irregularly crossed the border with Iran between Monday and Tuesday. Turkey has repeatedly signalled that it is does not want to host more Afghan refugees.
There has been a slight rise in the number of Syrian refugees in Turkey, according to the Turkish migration authorities. The city of Istanbul alone hosts more than half a million Syrian exiles.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi is visiting Turkey. The country hosts the largest number of refugees worldwide, including more than 3.5 million Syrians and hundreds of thousands of Afghans.